This is the first group of an unknown number of people that the US has expelled which the DR Congo had agreed to take in. The government in Kinshasa has stressed that their stay in the country is only temporary and that Washington is funding "their reception, support and care".

The US has already sent deportees to several other African countries, including Ghana, South Sudan and Eswatini, as part of the crackdown on immigration. Earlier this month, when details of the deportation deal first emerged, the Congolese government said the decision to receive what are known as third-country migrants - that is those who come from neither the sending nor receiving nation - aligns with its commitment to human dignity, to protecting the rights of migrants and international solidarity. The Congolese authorities also said that the scheme was not a "permanent relocation mechanism or an outsourcing of migration policies". The US State Department said that while it did not comment on "diplomatic communications with other governments" the administration remained "unwavering" in its "commitment to end illegal and mass immigration and bolster America's border security". The US has deported dozens of people to third countries since President Donald Trump came to power in January last year as part of its hard-line approach towards immigration.

"The individuals concerned are admitted to the national territory under short-stay permits, in accordance with national legislation concerning the entry and residence of foreigners," a Congolese government statement said on Friday without giving any more details about the deportees. (BBC)