The US Ambassador to Somalia says his embassy has discovered that around 4000 Somali immigrants, currently living in the US, have been targeted for deportation by US immigration agents. On Saturday, the Somalia service of VOA News was told by Ambassador Isse Awad that close to 4000 Somalis in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement records, the majority of whom are not currently held in detention, have been targeted.
Around 170 Somali immigrants who have had their applications for asylum rejected or fallen foul of American law have been sent back home, usually to the national capital of Mogadishu, since the Washington-based Somalia embassy reopened, in November 2015, according to the ambassador.
Awad told VOA that fewer than 300 Somalis are expected to be removed from the US over the next few months, saying that information on the identity of the deportees and the dates scheduled for their deportation from US authorities is still awaited by his embassy. 82 undocumented immigrants from as many as 26 different countries were recently arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in a five-day operation centered on the US capital. 68 of these had criminal convictions for the likes of armed robbery, drugs and larceny offenses.
Several Somali immigrants, already deported back to their home country, say that the country they found awaiting them is different, and much more dangerous, than the one they left behind.