No fewer than 90 Somali nationals and two Kenyans on Wednesday arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi after being deported from the US.
The deportees, believed to have been affected by US President Donald Trump’s implementation of his pledge to crack down on illegal immigrants, arrived at the airport at midday aboard Omni, an American Charter Airline.
The Somalis then boarded a flight that left for Mogadishu at 3pm (+3GMT). Security sources at the airport said the travellers were accompanied by security officers, who also accompanied them to Mogadishu.
Airport police boss Zipporah Waweru confirmed that there had been a plane carrying Somalis in transit to Mogadishu, but she could not confirm whether they were deportees.
“They have left and to me, they looked happy so I cannot for sure tell you that they were deported or not,” Ms Waweru said.
President Trump had vowed during the campaign for the White House to kick out illegal immigrants and immigrants with criminal records, saying they would be deported at their own cost.
On Tuesday, President Trump said he was ready to build a wall on the Mexican border and send away illegal immigrants as he rolled out a series of immigration decrees.
Officials said President Trump had directed that migrant quotas and programmes be cut, thus slowing down the processing of visas.
The orders would restrict immigration and access to the US for refugees and visa holders from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, according to American media. During his campaign, President Trump said he would deport or jail up to three million illegal migrants.
Africa Review
