This archive report was first published on 20 November 2019.
Published on November 20, 2019, a report by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) revealed that at least 182 Kenyans living in the US illegally have been arrested in the last month.
The report stated that many of those arrested were applying for US citizenship through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme.
Launched by former US President Barack Obama in 2012, DACA allows individuals who entered the US as children and are living unlawfully to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action that could lead to full citizenship.
However, the report showed that nearly 110,000 people who applied to stay in the US legally under DACA had arrest records, with offences ranging from assault and rape to murder, burglary, and driving while under the influence.
According to the report, individuals from 78 countries globally were arrested for being in the US illegally, with Mexico recording the highest number of people arrested at 91,272.
