ST. ALBANS, Vt. (WCAX) – President Donald Trump has promised to begin mass deportations of millions of people living in the United States illegally. That has left even immigrants pursuing legal entry to the country concerned that they, too, could be kicked out.
A Ugandan man was summoned to a surprise meeting with federal immigration officials in Vermont on Tuesday. Steven Tendo was denied asylum under the Biden administration but is still hoping to reverse that before he gets deported. Now, with President Trump back in office, he was worried his deportation was going to be enforced on Tuesday.
Dozens of Vermonters gathered to support Steven Tendo as he went inside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in St. Albans Tuesday morning.
“The letter caught me by surprise and I didn’t know what to think. And with what is going on in media, it freaked me out,” Tendo said.
Tendo says he got a letter from Immigration and Customs Enforcement Friday asking him to come in for a meeting. He worried ICE would detain and deport him.
“You have to be just be ready for the worst every time they summon you to come whether you have an issue or not,” Tendo said.
Tendo came to the U.S. from Uganda in 2018 seeking political asylum. His bid was denied and he’s now living in Vermont under what’s known as a stay of removal, delaying his deportation order. He’s required to check in with ICE periodically.
Many people who care about him showed support before his meeting.
“There was such a rally that everybody had to come and just felt needed to support him, to show him. You know anybody would would want to help him,” said Sal Millichamp of Burlington.
“This is like the type of person that we, you know, that we want in our community,” said Jacob Berkowitz, a co-worker.
After about 15 minutes inside, Tendo emerged from the ICE office, his stay of removal still in place for at least six more months.
With worsening political conditions in Uganda, his lawyer is fighting to get his asylum case reconsidered.
“Unfortunately, there’s nothing, nothing is possible for Steven until his asylum case is reopened. Because without it being reopened, that deportation order stands,” said Brett Stokes, the director of the Center for Justice Reform Clinic at the Vermont Law School.
For now, Tendo will remain in Vermont, working at the UVM Medical Center and training to be a nurse, thankful for the support he’s received.
“I am just so warm, even if it’s freezing, that you guys came for me. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I can never pay you back in any way, but I promise that I will be there for you,” Tendo said.
Tendo also has an ongoing civil case against the U.S. government alleging abuses and injuries he suffered while he was in Homeland Security detention in Texas before coming to Vermont.