One Kenyan’s Decade-Long Journey Through the Removal Process

Voice of America in “Kenyan Immigrant Spends a Decade Fighting Deportation” looks at the long journey of a Kenyan immigrant fighting removal from the United States.

Sylvester Owino is a small business owner in San Diego, California. His family owns Rafikiz Foodz — a food vendor offering “Kenyan food for your soul.”  Owino is fighting to stay in the United States through an asylum case that has lasted a decade. Owino arrived in the U.S. from Kenya in 1998 on a student visa, leaving a country where he said he was beaten, jailed and threatened by the government.  He later encountered criminal problems that led to a removal proceeding and appeals.  The story provides insights onto the operation of the criminal removal system and the experience of one immigrant caught up in that system.

KJ