In a striking rebuke to the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration tactics, a federal judge has mandated the immediate return of a Colombian woman, Adriana María Quiroz Zapata, after she was unlawfully deported to a nation that had explicitly refused her entry.
The order, issued Wednesday by US district judge Richard Leon, pulls no punches. He deemed Quiroz Zapata’s expulsion to the Democratic Republic of Congo “likely illegal.” A dire situation, indeed.
Quiroz Zapata, 55, battles diabetes and a thyroid condition. Her health is fragile. Yet, she found herself in Kinshasa, DRC, a country that had already stated it couldn’t provide adequate medical care. This wasn't just a bureaucratic misstep; it put her life at risk.
“She has been sent to a country that refused to accept her because they cannot provide sufficient medical care. As a result, she faces a daily risk of medical complications, up to and including death.”
The consequences were immediate and alarming. Black spots began to emerge on her back and foot while she was in detention. Her skin peeled. Her nails blackened. Her lawyer, Lauren O’Neal, painted a grim picture: “She’s not doing well and does worry that she’s going to die.”
A Policy Under Fire
Quiroz Zapata’s journey began in August 2024, entering the US from Mexico. She was taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. Since her deportation, she’s been confined to a hotel in Kinshasa. Gates locked. Rare excursions, always supervised. A prisoner, effectively, in a place that didn't want her.
Her case shines a harsh light on a broader, opaque White House initiative: the “third-country deportation” policy. Thousands of immigrants, living legally in the US, awaiting asylum rulings, suddenly faced expulsion. Sent to countries where many had no connections whatsoever.
Advocacy groups claim over 15,000 such orders were issued in the administration’s relentless drive for more expulsions. Only a fraction have been carried out. The details of these agreements remain shrouded in secrecy, though the US has signed pacts with nations like Ecuador, Honduras, Uganda, Cameroon, and, crucially, the Democratic Republic of Congo. A few hundred individuals, at most, have endured these forced relocations.
This ruling is more than just a win for one woman. It’s a chilling indictment of an immigration policy that appears to prioritize raw numbers over fundamental human welfare and the rule of law. What other 'likely illegal' expulsions persist in the shadows?
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