Mastodawn

Judge Orders US to Return #Colombian Woman Deported to #Congo

The unusual ruling came after the judge found that the #Trump admin had most likely violated the #law by deporting the 55-year-old woman to the African country despite its refusal to take her.

The judge ordered the admin to return the woman, Adriana Maria Quiroz Zapata to the #US, a rare instance of a judge doing so amid the admin’s #deportation campaign.

#immigration #judiciary #rendition #AbuseOfPower
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/13/world/africa/congo-colombia-deportee-return.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

Judge Orders U.S. to Return Colombian Woman Deported to Congo

The unusual ruling came after the judge found that the Trump administration had most likely violated the law by deporting the 55-year-old woman to the African country despite its refusal to take her.

The New York Times

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Nonilex 1d ago

Both #ICE & the #State Dept are under pressure from the White House to find places to deport immigrants whom the govt cannot send to their home countries, usually because a judge has ruled that they will most likely face #persecution & #torture there.
As a workaround, the #Trump admin has been cutting deals with countries that are willing to accept these immigrants. #Congo had agreed to accept some deportees, but refused on medical grounds to accept Zapata, court records show.

#immigration #law

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Nonilex

Zapata has diabetes, hyperlipidemia & hypothyroidism, according to her lawyer, Lauren O’Neal. Because of those conditions, the Congolese Interior Ministry told #ICE in a letter that it could not accept her because it could not provide adequate medical care….

“The government sent her to the #DRC, anyway,” the judge, Richard J. Leon, wrote, adding, “Sending plaintiff to the DRC, therefore, was likely illegal.”

#immigration #law #judiciary #rendition #slavery #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #AbuseOfPower

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Ariaflame 1d ago

@Nonilex If only we thought a judge's order would have any effect.