DAKAR
\nThe first migrants deported from the United States under a recent bilateral agreement arrived in Democratic Republic of Congo early on Friday, according to one of the migrants, a lawyer in contact with the group and two airport sources.
\nThe plane carrying the deportees \u2014 from Colombia, Peru and Ecuador \u2014 landed in Kinshasa at around 1 a.m. (0000 GMT), flight tracking data showed.
\nA Colombian woman among the group, who spoke to Reuters, said there were 16 migrants \u2014 nine men and seven women. An airport source put \u200cthe number of \u200carrivals at 15.
\nCongo\u2019s interior ministry and a spokesperson \u200cfor the Congolese presidency did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
\nReuters reported on Wednesday that more than 30 migrants were expected to be deported to Congo this week.
\nAlma David, a US-based lawyer representing one of the migrants, said the lower number of arrivals could be due to last-minute interventions by US federal judges. She said she was aware of at least three cases in which judges halted removals.
\nIt is unclear how many people could ultimately be \u200cdeported under the agreement between Washington and \u200cKinshasa, announced on April 5. \u2018VERY LONG\u2019 JOURNEY, MIGRANT SAYS
\n\u201cThe flight was very calm. They \u200ctreated us well and gave us enough food,\u201d said the Colombian \u200cmigrant, who spoke on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.
\n\u201cIt was very long, around 26 or 27 hours.\u201d
\nFlight tracking data showed the plane departed from Alexandria, Louisiana, stopping in Dakar, Senegal, and Accra, Ghana, before reaching Kinshasa.
\nIt is the first transfer \u200cof so-called third-country deportees to Congo, a country grappling with widespread insecurity, displacement and a fragile asylum system.
\nThe deportation agreement coincides with the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to implement a US-brokered peace deal between Congo and Rwanda aimed at ending fighting with Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in eastern Congo that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more.
\nIt also follows the signing of a strategic partnership granting the United States preferential access to Congo\u2019s critical minerals.
\nOnce in Congo, the deportees were told they had been granted a seven-day visa allowing them to move freely in the country, which could be extended for up to three months, the Colombian migrant said.
\nThe group was also informed that they were welcome to apply for asylum in Congo, though officials discouraged them from doing so, warning Congo was dangerous, the migrant said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DAKAR The first migrants deported from the United States under a recent bilateral agreement arrived in Democratic Republic of Congo early on Friday, according to one of the migrants, a lawyer in contact with the group and two airport sources. The plane carrying the deportees \u2014 from Colombia, Peru and Ecuador \u2014 landed in Kinshasa […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":542431,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-542401","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n