A Kenyan woman has claimed that she was detained for hours and denied entry into the United States following a disputed ban on immigrants from selected countries that was signed by President Donald Trump.
Ednah Chepkoton stated that she arrived at O'Hare International Airport only to be subjected to intense questioning by the immigration officers.
According to Chepkoton, she was given a five-year multiple entry visa which she used to travel to US on February 4.
The nursing graduate says she presented the visa to one officer but instead of clearing her, he started questioning her motive of travelling to the US.
"We landed at around 9.30 am but when I was clearing with customs, an immigration officer called me aside and started questioning me," explained the lady.
After more than four hours of waiting, she was requested to submit her mobile phone and password and was asked to continue waiting as her case was being discussed.
"I went back to ask why my case was taking long because my flight was leaving. It was at that juncture that the officer, who was with a woman in uniform, told me he had two questions for me," she recalled.
Chepkoton narrated that at this juncture, the officers told her to either choose to have her visa withdrawn or she be banned from the US for five years.
She chose the cancellation option and the visa was stamped with a Homeland Security stamp withdrawing it.
The graduate stated that after more than eight hours of waiting, she was bundled into a return flight and was deported to Nairobi.
"I was really looking forward to my one-month stay in the US. We had spent a lot of money on air tickets. It is so sad that after all the vetting at the embassy in Nairobi I was humiliated this much,” she was quoted by the Star.
A few weeks ago, two Kenyans and 90 Somalis arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) after being deported under unclear circumstances.
Contacted for comment, an officer from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Kenyans.co.ke that they had not received any communication regarding the deportations.
