Kenyans make up the largest group of Africans named on a United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) list of 125 nationals facing deportation, with 49 people included.
The list, which contains the names and photographs of nationals from five African countries, puts Kenya ahead of Ghana, which has 44 nationals listed. Mauritania follows with 12, while Morocco and South Africa have 11 and 9, respectively.
The latest figures bring the number of Kenyans identified on the DHS deportation lists to 49, including 15 who were listed in December. The earlier group comprised 14 men and one woman. The offences attributed to those on the list include illegal use of credit cards, driving under the influence, sexual offences, assault, burglary and forgery. Other offences cited include aggravated assault, money laundering, fleeing to avoid prosecution, drug possession and property damage.
In a separate update on Tuesday, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said Kenyan national Eric Maloba was arrested after a tractor-trailer crash in Hamblen County, Tennessee. Maloba, who holds a commercial driver’s licence issued in Texas, was reportedly instructing a trainee driver when the crash occurred. ICE said he remains in its custody pending removal proceedings. Maloba entered the US legally in October 2018 but, according to immigration authorities, overstayed his authorised period of admission in April 2019.
ICE described the arrest as part of its wider enforcement efforts involving commercial driver’s licence holders. The crackdown has attracted criticism, including from some Democrats, who have argued that immigration enforcement is also affecting asylum seekers and other people without criminal convictions. Reuters reported that a growing proportion of those arrested have no criminal conviction or charge and may have pending asylum or other legal claims, which can prevent immediate deportation.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin defended the enforcement approach in an interview with CNN, saying the department was enforcing immigration laws passed by Congress. “We go after the worst of the worst every single day, but when we make contact with an illegal because they are hanging out with the worst of the worst, we are also arresting you.”
The department said, in a separate update, that 112 Nigerian nationals were also facing deportation. Nigerians were not among the 125 nationals in the five-country list but were included in a separate publication.
The wider enforcement drive has coincided with a sharp rise in immigration arrests. US government data reviewed by Reuters showed that ICE made nearly 51,000 arrests in August, while deportations averaged about 1,200 a day.
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