The Congo Refused to Accept a Seriously Sick Immigrant. The U.S. Deported Her There Anyway.

"A woman from Colombia, fleeing a life of extreme physical abuse from her former partner, legally arrived in the U.S. in 2024 seeking asylum. In her home country, Adriana María Quiroz Zapata had endured regular rape and beatings from a man "tied to the Colombian national police" who attacked her "with impunity" thanks to his connections. In the United States, an immigration judge considered evidence and her testimony, and ruled that the U.S. could not send her back to Colombia because of the likelihood that she would be tortured or killed there."

"And so the U.S., despite the pending asylum case of Quiroz Zapata, instead decided to send the woman who had come here legally to the other side of the globe, deporting her to the Democratic Republic of Congo despite that country refusing to take her, on the grounds that the DRC could not provide for her serious medical needs. The U.S. deported her anyway, effectively sending Quiroz Zapata off to her death in a foreign African land, where she has since been held within a locked hotel complex that deported immigrants are not allowed to leave."

"This week another federal judge, one presumably in possession of a working human soul, took mercy on Quiroz Zapata and ordered her return to the United States. In doing so, he ruled that the government's actions in sending her to the DRC had been "likely illegal," and ordered the Trump administration to report back by Friday evening on what specific steps it had taken toward securing Quiroz Zapata's return to the United States."

A Colombian woman fled extreme physical abuse, including rape and beatings, and legally arrived in the United States in 2024 seeking asylum. Evidence and testimony were considered by an immigration judge, who found she could not be returned to Colombia due to the likelihood of torture or death. Despite the pending asylum case, the U.S. deported her to the Democratic Republic of Congo, even though that country refused to take her. The stated reason was that the DRC could not provide for her serious medical needs. After deportation, she was held in a locked hotel complex where deported immigrants were not allowed to leave. A federal judge later ordered her return to the United States, ruling the government’s actions were likely illegal and requiring reporting on steps taken to secure her return.

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