White House pauses removal of detainees to the DRC as Ebola outbreak widens

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

White House pauses removal of detainees to the DRC as Ebola outbreak widens

But Trump administration will not return detainees deported to third countries in disease-struck region

Melody Schreiber
Sat 23 May 2026 15.33 BST
Last modified on Sat 23 May 2026 15.34 BST

The Trump administration will temporarily pause the removal of refugees to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during a spiraling Ebola outbreak, according to reporting by Politico, but experts say the move won’t help prevent the spread of the disease.

At least one woman is now in limbo after officials moved her to Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, and now say they won’t bring her back because of the Ebola travel ban – despite a judge’s order for her return.

Adriana Zapata, 55, fled Colombia to the US, but she was sent to Kinshasa over a month ago – even though the DRC said it could not care for her complex medical needs. A US judge ordered her return to the US, but American officials are saying they cannot bring her back because of the travel ban instituted on Monday.

“I’m just really worried about losing her,” Zapata’s lawyer, Lauren O’Neal, told the Gothamist. “I don’t want her to die before we can get her back here.”

-snip-

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/23/white-house-pauses-detainee-removal-drc-ebola

[LoisB]

1. Oh how magnanimous of IT.