A Kenyan man convicted of attempted robbery has staged a legal battle in the US to avoid being deported.

In a petition filed before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Kenyan is pushing to have some of the immigration rules adjusted to allow him to continue living in the US.

In the petition US Attorney General, Merrick Brian Garland, has been listed as a respondent, the Kenyan asserted he is eligible for relief under the Convention Against Torture. 

However, his bid suffered a major setback after 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled out his argument stating that he did not present enough evidence.

File photo of a ceremonial Court room in the US

FILE

The appellate panel established that his petition did not reach the merit of application because he failed to raise his arguments to the board.  

As the 7th Circuit noted, the immigration judge found that, among other things, the Kenyan-born middle-aged man failed to effectively defend his right to stay in the US, and was also not able to prove that he had or would suffer torture once deported.

In particular, the Judge held that the Kenya could have presented written statements or telephonic testimony from his parents and sister who still live in Kenya to show that he had been tortured in his country of birth. He also could have provided evidence such as the death certificate of his friend he alleges was murdered by a police officer in Kenya and medical records from his hospitalization.

The court stated that he only provided the written statement and testimony of his wife, who was not personally familiar with the events from his childhood.

"Before the Board, the Kenya [name redacted] failed to contest the decision that he did not produce reasonably available corroborating evidence to support his application. Although he argued that the immigration judge overlooked a report and article describing country conditions in Kenya, he never challenged the immigration judge’s findings as to corroboration," Judge Michael Brennan wrote for the 7th Circuit.

According to the documents filed in court, the Kenyan was forced to move to the US after suffering various forms of trauma while in Kenya, including witnessing the 2007/08 post-election violence.

"He alleges he and his family endured several hardships during his childhood there. For example, he states that his father was regularly harassed and intimidated for political and religious reasons. 

"He also claims he watched a police officer murder one of his friends during the political unrest following the 2007 Kenyan national election. Out of concern for his safety, he moved to his grandmother’s house and assumed a new name.

His grandmother then arranged for him to work for a company of acrobats so that he would be able to travel outside the country. Four years later, at age 19, he was admitted into the United States on a P1 nonimmigrant performer visa. He has not left the United States in the last 11 years, and he has overstayed his period of authorization since May 2017," the court documents read in part.

Before he was served with deportation orders, the Kenyan had served one year in prison after being accused of committing a number of crimes in the US. Kenyans.co.ke