Kenyans living in the United States now face the risk of a sudden deportation under a controversial move by President Donald Trump's administration aimed at fast-tracking the removal of migrants who entered the country unlawfully.
According to reports from U.S. media outlets, the Trump administration is planning to dismiss hundreds of thousands of asylum claims. Once this happens, the asylum seekers will immediately become deportable.
An asylum is a form of protection that allows an individual to stay in the United States rather than being deported to a country where there is a fear of harm.
As far as asylum-seeking is concerned, hundreds of thousands of immigrants have sought this sort of protection, citing unrest in their home countries. Incidentally, some asylum seekers have stayed in the U.S. for years, setting up livelihoods and families in the process.
This new move is set to affect immigrants to the United States, including Kenyans, who entered the country without documentation and later applied for asylum.
Notably, the new policy marks a dramatic shift in how immigration cases are handled by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which is the agency tasked with processing immigration benefits.
Traditionally, the USCIS was not heavily involved in deportation enforcement. This is, however, set to change thanks to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who gave the agency the mandate to place asylum seekers into fast-track deportation proceedings.
After the green light from Noem, the USCIS can now fast-track deportation proceedings without needing to appear before a judge.
For hundreds of Kenyans in the diaspora, the new shift is likely to spark anxiety, particularly for those who entered the United States illegally but somehow managed to establish lives there as law-abiding citizens who work and pay taxes.
Despite U.S. immigration law stating that individuals fleeing persecution in their home country are allowed to seek asylum regardless of how they entered the country, Trump's administration has been consistent in tightening the laws governing immigration.
As of 2023, federal data indicated the U.S. had 1.45 million pending asylum cases, some of which involved Kenyan nationals.
On Monday, June 23, Trump was handed another boost in his quest to deport immigrants after the U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for the government to resume deporting migrants.
The Supreme Court effectively paused a ruling by a Boston federal court judge who said immigrants deserved a “meaningful opportunity” to bring claims that they would face the risk if they were removed from certain countries.
