Anxiety continues to prevail with many waiting to see whether US President-elect Donald Trump will make good his threat to deport all illegal immigrants who have been leaving in America.
Nonetheless, two American-based lawyers have warned Kenyans living in the US without proper legal documentation on measures they ought to take to avoid being sent home.
Speaking to a local daily, attorneys Naima Said of Baltimore, Maryland and Japheth Matemu of Washington, DC, noted that in as much as Mr Trump may not follow through with the assertion, preparing for the worst was very important.
The lawyers warned Kenyans to avoid being entangled in situations that would attract law enforcement such as domestic violence and driving under the influence of alcohol.
"Kenyans living here without proper legal status should first and foremost, avoid what we call 'triggers'. Triggers are those actions that would bring one in contact with the police such as traffic violations/ accidents, driving under the influence (DUI) and domestic violence.
"Most Kenyans who are deported from the US usually fall under either one or all of these categories," Naima Said, a Kenyan immigration lawyer based in Baltimore, Maryland was quoted by the Nation.
One of US President Elect's campaign promises was the deportation of thousands of illegal immigrants residing in America.
Though a radical move, Mr Trump highlighted that: "What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers, where a lot of these people, probably 2 million, it could be even 3 million, we are getting them out of our country or we are going to incarcerate. But we’re getting them out of our country. They’re here illegally."
Majority of Kenyans who have found themselves in the US without proper legal status are believed to be in the category referred to as visa overstays - those who perhaps went to America as international students but their student visas had already elapsed or travelled on a visitor’s visa and had decided to overstay.
