ICE deported Colombian woman to DR Congo after Congolese officials refused her on medical grounds
On April 16, 2026, ICE placed Adriana Maria Quiroz Zapata — a 55-year-old Colombian woman with diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hypothyroidism — on a removal flight to the Democratic Republic of the Congo two days after Congolese officials had formally refused to accept her because they could not guarantee the medical care her conditions required. On May 14, 2026, U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon (D.D.C.) ruled the deportation was likely unlawful under the Immigration and Nationality Act and ordered the Trump administration to return her to the United States, finding that she faced a "daily risk of medical complications, up to and including death." As of the ruling she remained in the DRC.