182 Kenyans Living in the US Arrested While Applying for DACA: Report

182 Kenyans Living in the US Arrested While Applying for DACA: Report

182 undocumented Kenyans living in the US are among thousands of immigrants arrested while applying for legal status to avoid deportation and become eligible for work permits.

Those arrested had applied to be included in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, according to a report by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

DACA is an immigration program that allows those with unlawful presence in the US after being brought in as children to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action.

The USCIS report covered 78 countries globally, with Mexico recording the highest number of illegal immigrants arrested at 91,272, while Mali, New Zealand, and Taiwan had the least number at 21.

A total of 118,371 foreigners were arrested, out of which 464 are of unknown descent. In terms of regions, Africa had 1,100 DACA applicants arrested with North America recording the highest number at 107,669, while Oceania had the least number at 88.

Kenya has the second-highest number among African countries behind Nigeria with 209 incarcerated persons.

“The release of this report reflects the agency’s ongoing focus on transparency. The report provides updated information on known arrests and apprehensions of DACA requestors. The data may include arrests that did not result in convictions or where the charges were dropped or otherwise dismissed,” said USCIS.

The DACA program was enacted under President Barack Obama administration in 2012 but his successor Donald Trump has threatened to end the program.

DACA applicants must not have been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, or three or more ‘non-significant’ misdemeanors not arising out of the same act. They are also expected to not pose a threat to national security or public safety.

Comments

Nani? (not verified)     Mon, 11/18/2019 @ 01:10pm

For this reason, I am a big believer in having a plan B, whatever your immigration status in the States is...it takes a lawsuit, job loss, immigration papers, DUI etc to see you in lots of trouble. The only one thing I agree with Mkenya Halisi is a plan B in Kenya.

Maxiley (not verified)     Mon, 11/18/2019 @ 04:03pm

In reply to by Nani? (not verified)

@ Nani,I take it that you are referring to adults here.What DACA does is that it protects children who were brought in the USA by adult parents who are undocumented.There is a 2 year renewal.
Therefore when you talk of plan B,I believe that you are talking to the adults who brought these kids to the USA.
My point here is that, it Would be pretty had for a 30 year old illegal person ,in this case a Kenyan to be sent back to a country he has never been to,and given achoice might not even want to live there.
So I agree with you that its the parents/udults who should have plan B when thinking of bringing their families to live in the USA.Of course a 30 year old is an adult,even if he was bought here when he /she was 4 or 5 years old.Without "papers" such aperson would have avery had time executing plan A<B< or C.The only hope lies in democrats taking the white house and promulgating,and eventually implementing laws favorable to DACA recipients.Or for that matter to all undocumented immigrants...
No double this is a tough,and touchy matter.Should the child blame the parents,or the government? My 2 cents.

Nani? (not verified)     Mon, 11/18/2019 @ 07:03pm

In reply to by Maxiley (not verified)

Hi Maxiley, I am very aware of DACA. I work in a state agency that is quite supportive of DACA students but has to be careful because they receive federal funding as well. DACA or no DACA, I am talking about being illegal in general. I am in Kenya three times a year and I have run into people of a wide age range being deported to Kenya. I know of a family deported from New Jersey and found themselves in Eastlands with nothing. Kids are going to a local primary school and the dad is making ends meet by working at Tuskys. If there was a minimal investment particularly in a house, the blow would have been less painful.

Anne (not verified)     Wed, 12/04/2019 @ 12:02pm

In reply to by Nani? (not verified)

Nani? I support you, while we all live in this wonderful place, let's always remember where we came from.With or without papers anything might happen and it will be better landing in your little investment at home.

mkenya halisi (not verified)     Mon, 11/18/2019 @ 06:31pm

hehehehe @maxiley i got married at 24 years n i was very sure what i wanted n i was very responsible then.I move in states at 22 n by the time i was 30 i had achieved good stuff n had 2 kids by then nanilikuwa nimenjipanga somehow good.I was already a citizen but i never forgot home juu those years i had left home i knew very well that hio maisha ya majuu was fake n plastic.So hao watoto unasema walikunja wakiwa 8/9 years na sasa wako 30 with only dcca papers need to bin have told to always have a plan B.Either they could have applied for papers in canada/Australia if they have skills n they could have bin legal instead of hiding in states.Their parents could have prepared them beta thou wazazi wengi states pia wako brainwashed na hii maisha ya kukufia stato na mashida zao.Always have a plan B whether u have papers or not.

Maxiley (not verified)     Mon, 11/18/2019 @ 07:35pm

In reply to by mkenya halisi (not verified)

@ Mkenya Halisi,Iam happy for you that you had aplan and worked had na sasa you are sitting well.And I truly agree with you that you have to have plan A,B<or C.
But, certainly if you had been brought in the USA at age 8,then become a DACA recipient,things would have been alittle different.This DACA thing is relatively new.So it would have been a little had for you to acquire any legal documents,such as SS#,working papers...
How would you have dealt with the whole situation,knowing that you could be sent to Kenya,aplace you hardly rememnber? Of course if that's the reality there may be no choice but to go.
Honestly, I doubt if many DACA kids would think of leaving USA,and therefore have plan B.And as you said, parents have to prepare their kids for this eventuality.Tough though.Remember they are thinking like Americans for whom in all intents and purposes they are.

Mumdumugo (not verified)     Mon, 11/18/2019 @ 06:46pm

A lot of this does not make sense. After Sessions suspended DACA in 2017, any good lawyer would have told you to lay low as giving the feds your info simply put a bullseye on yourself. Being a new applicant was a bad idea, bigly. With Obama as president, you had to have been brought in by your parents prior to 2007 before age 16. You couldn't be older than 31 or younger than 16 to apply, had to be in school or be a high school grad or honorably discharged from military service and have no felonies, serious misdemeanors and no more than 2 misdemeanor convictions. Why oh why would you stick your neck out thusly. I hope you have a smooth landing prepped in the 254 and next time lawyer up prior to taking drastic steps. For those who frequent this site and are looking at doing anything in the immigration realm, consult a qualified immigration lawyer first.

Baite (not verified)     Mon, 11/18/2019 @ 10:07pm

In reply to by Mundumugo (not verified)

This is a very smart man. He went to the Sodom n gormolla on a green card and after 5yrs decided to apply for citizenship. Paid an immigration lawyer, the application fees knowing very well that he don't like Sodom and its support for Ushoga. Three went back home for good.
Please don't question mkenya halisi and mess up his fairy tale.

MjuAji (not verified)     Tue, 11/19/2019 @ 03:55am

No disrespect, as this is a open forum. But every time a plan B or C or whatever is mentioned, some people somewhere become jittery, and start raising an accusing finger, eee... blame games here or there, or just direct their temper tantrums to advocates of ...East or West, home is best: is like opening a can of worms. Or simply label others as alarmists. But truth be told.
I highly recommend Kenyans, with or without papers, to have something somewhere in Jamhuri just in case. I am in Kenya right now and I was shocked to learn that those people who talk ill of owning this or that in pubs and social places, are right now zururaring making heavy investment in varios parts of the country. Brethren, when it happens, whether deportation, denaturalization, death, decapacitation, illness etc, it will be between you, your family and God. I just met a guy who was deported around 2002, was a nurse then earning good money, and I want to admit that I was shaken: I could believe this was the guy who used to look me down because of his money, faith and self pride. The guy was deported with all his earthly possession in a plastic bag and the wife learnt of it when he called her from Heathrow airport. We had to hurriedly sanya sanya kakitu so that he could start up something. He messed up again here. For a man who was 5 years my junior, he is now 15 years my senior, if you know what I mean.
I don't want to cast aspersions or seemingly sound negative about this, but the reality on the here is that, one need to revisit his/her stand on whether or not to have kakitu.
For children who landed in the US while they were kids, there really dont have any attachment with their homeland. But for adults,.....well, its different. But all I know is that even for those kids who are now adults, one day one time, just like nyeuthis spend so much to learn about their origin and family tree, these Kenyan born kids will do the same.
I even met one of the two young adults who were brought in the US while they were kids, wakaanza kufanya vituko huko until ICE deported them right from where they had been incarcerated about 10 years ago. Its terrible for them. Life here in Kenya is hard on its citizens but equally terrible for Kenyans in the diaspora who find themselves in sort of unwelcome territories. Just saying.

formerlyguest2 (not verified)     Wed, 11/20/2019 @ 04:30pm

In reply to by MjuAji (not verified)

I think you have not been around here to read how Mr Mhalisi has insulted diasporas, so folks reaction to his unsolicited matusi is what causes that reaction and his generalizations. There is a difference between talking to and advising vs talking down on ...hiyo tuu. Also you cannot paint everyone with a single brush. Everyone case is different including yours , so talking down on folks I frown upon and someone reality may not be necessarily your reality majuu or not. Some folks plan b may not be Kenya, it may very well be iceland, so my issue is folks assuming everyone idea of "home" "retirement" etc is Kenya. We may all be Kenyans, but not all of us have the same attachment and sentiments of Kenya as destination /retirement/plan B. Sawa?

mkenya halisi (not verified)     Tue, 11/19/2019 @ 07:05pm

@mjuaji thumbs up juu am always called bad names here when i encourage this heaven diasporas to invest kakitu hapa gichagi incase shit happens whether u have papers or not??Devil mite knock in yr hse u either loose yr job/wife kicks u out/hit somebody by mistake/ or u loose yr hand or foot??If u had plan b jamhuri trust me u will b way way way beta than hio majuu??But blame yrself if shit happens juu tulikwambia.Majuu life is fake fake fake,u work yr ass off u spend the money back then u start all over again.Hio ndio life ya wazungu countries?Build yr hse pole pole n within 3-5 years ur free of morgage hapa jamhuri.Build 10 rentals giving u each 2bedroom 15k hio ni 150k.Pahali umenjeenga kanyumba kako uko na some kienyeji chickens or tunguluwe or tungombe ama mbuzi za maziwa giving u give n take 100k so with 250k nabado unatudeal hapa na pale bratha u will leave like a king nahizo mipango zote ukiwa majuu u can do it within 5-7 years then u fak off??But wr so much brainwashed by kuishi uzunguni hata kama tuna suffer.Bure kabisa

Mundumugo (not verified)     Fri, 11/22/2019 @ 10:54am

In reply to by mkenya halisi (not verified)

No one calls you bad names. They call you out on the stupid and generally idiotic stuff you spout in barely coherent gibberish. You make foolish assumptions and use these to generalize. My life is quite real I assure you. I call you deportee because your hate and envy and nonsensical explanations of your life in the states point to a forced eviction. It may be unpleasant to be be forcibly removed but you have to move on. Don't blame the rest of us for whatever happened to you.

David Ngethe Ikanyi (not verified)     Sun, 12/01/2019 @ 11:48pm

There are no undocumented Kenyan immigrants in US. They all came by air and were checked in at the airport. The undocumented sneaked in through the southern borders. Have no passports. Kenyans may be described as "overstayed"

George Kariuki (not verified)     Mon, 12/02/2019 @ 01:51am

Me i fear a lot nisirudishwe Kenya bila kitu from Massachusetts, I was a parking boy on kimathi street na hata nyumba sijajenga.
Aki mungu nisaidie niweze kujenga nyumba.

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