Kenyan in Boston Wins Deportation Case after Months-Long Fight
Yesterday, Tomoni Mwamunga, an undocumented and Black youth from Boston, Mass. was granted prosecutorial discretion after a months-long campaign to stop his deportation. Tomoni, born in Nairobi, Kenya was placed in removal proceedings after financial hardships forced him to disenroll from community college and lose his F-1 Visa.
Undocumented Black immigrants, like Tomoni, are three times more likely to be deported than non-black immigrants and organizers determined to not allow Tomoni to become another statistic. Over the last several months, undocumented Black youth, students, Massachusetts residents and a national network of undocumented youth from across the country came together to make calls, share Tomoni’s story, collect nearly 2,000 petition signatures, make demands of elected and Administration officials and rallied for his safety.
Tomoni Mwamunga, a leader with the Student Immigrant Movement and the UndocuBlack Network said, “All the petitions, calls, media blasts and the legal strategy have paid off — we won! I cannot convey how eternally grateful I am to everyone that was involved in this anti-deportation effort. It’s a tremendous relief to me and my family for this ordeal to come to an end. I feel blessed right now and ready to throw down for others like me so that we continue to win liberation for all our immigrant communities.”
Katherine Asunción, a leader in the Student Immigrant Movement of Massachusetts said, “Tomoni is a member of our community and our family. We fought for him and showed that the only safe community is an organized community. We will continue to organize to fight against a political elite that thinks our people are disposable and can be tossed aside. ”
Jamie Richards, a leader in the UndocuBlack Network added, “Deportation rates for Black immigrants are three times the rate for non-Black immigrants. Members of the UndocuBlack community are often deported without due process or community support. We were determined to not have Tomoni become another statistic.“
Greisa Martinez, Advocacy Director at United We Dream, said, “When we are fighting to defeat the political doctrine which constantly preaches more money for more agents to inflict more terror on our communities, we must remember that it is an extension of America’s racist criminal justice system. Migrant justice is racial justice — we are all here to stay and are determined to fight for a life of dignity and equity for all!”
- unitedwedream.com
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