US federal judge Richard Leon on December 11 ordered the Trump administration to return Adriana Maria Quiroz Zapata, a 55-year-old Colombian national, to the United States after she was deported to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In his ruling, Judge Leon emphasized the deportation was 'likely unlawful.'
Quiroz Zapata suffers from diabetes and thyroid issues. According to the ruling, she 'was sent to a country that refused to accept her because it could not provide adequate medical care. As a result, she faces daily risk of medical complications that could lead to death.'
In a statement submitted to the court, Quiroz Zapata said that while detained, dark spots began to appear on her back and legs, her skin peeled, and her nails turned black. Her attorney, Lauren O'Neal, said: 'She is unwell and fears she will die.'
Quiroz Zapata entered the US from Mexico in August 2024 and was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). After deportation, she was housed in a hotel in Kinshasa, the DRC capital, with locked gates. According to O'Neal, she and other deportees are rarely allowed outside, and only under supervision.
Her case is among thousands of immigrants living legally in the US, awaiting decisions on asylum applications, who unexpectedly received deportation orders to countries with which they have little to no connection. Advocacy groups say more than 15,000 deportation orders to third countries have been issued during the White House's intensified deportation campaign, though only a fraction have been executed.
Details of agreements to accept deportees remain limited, but the US has signed pacts with countries including Ecuador, Honduras, Uganda, Cameroon, and the DRC. Advocacy groups estimate only a few hundred third-country deportations have been carried out.
