Overview
- U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon, in a Wednesday order, directed the government to bring Adriana Maria Quiroz Zapata back to the United States and to report by 5 p.m. Friday on steps to do so.
- The judge said sending her to the Democratic Republic of Congo was likely illegal because Congo had formally refused to accept her due to medical needs, and he warned she faces daily risk of serious complications or death.
- Quiroz Zapata, who has diabetes and a thyroid condition, remains in Kinshasa in a hotel where deportees are kept under International Organization for Migration supervision with locked gates and only brief, escorted outings.
- Associated Press reporting shows at least 15 Latin American nationals were flown on a nearly 24‑hour charter to Congo with hands and feet restrained, and their three‑month visas are close to expiring with no clear plan.
- Advocates say the administration has issued more than 15,000 third‑country removal orders but carried out only a fraction, and Congo’s deal remains opaque as President Félix Tshisekedi describes it as a goodwill gesture without payment.