Colombian deported to DR Congo despite protection from removal, separated from family
May 22, 2026·Location: Orlando, FL
Country of origin: Colombia

Jorge Cubillos, a 42-year-old truck driver from Bogotá who fled threats from armed groups in Colombia, was deported to the Democratic Republic of Congo despite holding withholding of removal protection granted by an immigration judge in 2022 under the UN Convention Against Torture. He had lived in the U.S. since 2018, settling with his wife and four children in St. Cloud, Florida. After an arrest on a domestic battery charge, ICE lodged a detainer and detained him in Orlando, holding him for more than three months and moving him between facilities in Orlando, Jacksonville, and Louisiana while he filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention. He was flown to Kinshasa in shackles on April 15, 2026, after refusing to sign paperwork agreeing to relocation to Mexico, one of 15 Latin American migrants sent to Congo under a Trump administration deal with Kinshasa. He is now housed in a Kinshasa hotel with other deportees, reporting poor conditions including power cuts and lack of drinking water, and is receiving assistance from the International Organization for Migration while awaiting possible repatriation to Colombia.
Timeline
Sources
- Un inmigrante colombiano deportado a El Congo nos comparte lo que vive en África
- “No me explico cómo estoy aquí”: La historia de Carlos Rodelo, el colombiano deportado de EEUU a África
- greytastudio.com
- ‘I didn’t know where DR Congo was’: Latin…
nairavoice.com.ng·May 22, 2026·archived copy
- Colombian man living in St. Cloud deported to Africa
- Colombians stranded in Congo after being expelled from the US: ‘I never thought I would get to know Africa under these circumstances’
english.elpais.com·Apr 21, 2026
- ca.news.yahoo.com
- Deported Latino Migrants in Congo Say They Are Not Free to Leave, 'We Want to Go but They Won't Let Us'
latintimes.com·Apr 23, 2026
- elpais.com
- Hay dos colombianos en primera deportación de migrantes de EE.UU. al Congo
lasillavacia.com·Apr 21, 2026
- Colombianos deportados al Congo: Cómo el asilo en EE. UU. terminó en traslado a terceros países
elcolombiano.com·2026-4-23 11:11:5
es-us.noticias.yahoo.com·Apr 23, 2026
- Migrante colombiano fue deportado por Estados Unidos, a la República del Congo: “Nos dejaron tirados aquí”
infobae.com·Apr 21, 2026
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