Why these 1,282 Kenyans could be put on first flight from the US
Estimates show there about 30,000 Kenyans living in the US without proper immigration papers

Even before deportation of illegal immigrants in the United States kicked off on the orders of President Donald Trump, 1, 282 Kenyans were among the 1, 445,549 non-citizens living in America, who have the final orders of being sent back home.
In a list provided by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in November 2024, Honduras has the highest number of immigrants totaling 261,651 people, with Guatemala, Mexico and El Salvador following closely with 253 413, 252 044 and 203 822 respectively.
Liechtenstein, Monaco, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, St Pierre and Miquelon and Sao Tome and Principe come in last with 1 person per country, followed closely by French Polynesia, Aruba, Cayman Islands, Macau, San Marino, with 2 people each.
ICE says it cannot provide a detailed list of case-specific reasons why they are unable to remove noncitizens on the non-detained docket with final orders. Under Title 8 of the U.S Code, ICE may remove noncitizens who are subject to final order of removal issued by an immigration judge or other lawful orders.
Estimates show there about 30,000 Kenyans living in the US without proper immigration papers.
ICE works to remove undocumented noncitizens from the US once they are subject to final orders of removal in a timely manner. The US Government believes every country is obligated to accept the return of its citizens and nationals who are ineligible to remain in the country.
Even as the US government requests foreign governments take appropriate steps to confirm the citizenship of noncitizens suspected to be their nationals, which include conducting interviews, issuing travel documents on time, and accepting the physical return of their nationals by scheduled commercial or charter flights consistent with ICE and/or foreign government removal guideline, some countries have been uncooperative.
These include Bhutan, Burma, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Laos, Pakistan, People’s Republic of China, Russia, Somalia, and Venezuela. Also, ICE considers 11 countries to be at risk of non-compliance: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Gabon, Gambia, Iraq, Jamaica, Nicaragua, South Sudan, St. Lucia, and Vietnam.
Close to 1,200 people were arrested by ICE in just one day, however, half of the detainees have no criminal records. But just 613 of those total arrests, which is nearly 52 per cent , were considered “criminal arrests.”
The others were just non-violent offenders or just people who have not really committed any criminal offenses other than illegally crossing the border. Eight, including two gang members, were considered ‘worst criminals arrested’.