ESAT News (April 19, 2017)
Somali advocates have expressed concern after a spate of immigration arrests in the Atlanta area.
The Associated Press reported that around 10 Somalis have been arrested this month.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson Bryan Cox says the agency has recently been able to obtain travel documents to execute deportations to Somalia. The agency had previously been unable to obtain these documents because of conditions in the country.
Omar Shekhey is the president of the Somali American Community Center in Clarkston. He says many have been in the country for decades and it’s dangerous to deport them as Somalia is in the middle of a civil war and famine.
Cox says Somali nationals aren’t being specifically targeted.
More than 200 Somalis have been deported this fiscal year.