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President Trump promises to reduce illegal immigration. Here’s how deportation works in the US

MINNEAPOLIS — Nathan Kintu came to Minneapolis from Uganda in 2012 to study on a student visa. He fell in love with the United States and he fell in love.

His wife, Victoria, is also a Ugandan immigrant. That’s where things get complicated: Victoria had a green card, but it doesn’t transfer through marriage, and Kintu’s student visa was about to expire – which was in 2020.

“I don’t have a job to pay a lawyer to go through the process of getting a work permit,” Kintu said. ‘You feel like you could be deported at any moment. You’re going to leave the country, they’re going to take you out of the country.’

According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Kintu’s case is just one of 7.6 million noncitizens on the agency’s docket. They are all unique and many of them are very complicated. Technically, all of these people can be deported, but in most cases it is a federal immigration judge who makes that decision.

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In Minnesota, ICE agents could receive a call from Customs and Border Protection either at the northern border or at one of the other ports of entry, such as Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

ICE could also become involved if a noncitizen is stopped for speeding or arrested on criminal charges. However, it is often up to the local police or sheriff to notify ICE. Other times, ICE may act on a tip and investigate a company.

The noncitizen could be held in a county jail and, in Minnesota, only three contracts with ICE. If they are not there, the non-citizen can be tracked through other means, such as a GPS tracker or telephone check-ins. If there is a low risk of flight, they may not be tracked at all, as long as they show up for their hearings.

There is one federal immigration court in Minnesota, at Fort Snelling. There are seven judges.

Only Congress can change the way the current system works – not an executive order.

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“ICE needs to determine their priorities and it is true that people with criminal records are wanted for arrest, but if the new administration wants to deport everyone who is illegal, it will hinder their ability to actually focus on the people who should doing. priorities,” said Graham Ojala Barbour, an immigration attorney in St. Paul.

ICE’s St. Paul region detained 1,845 noncitizens last year, with more than 80% of them charged or convicted, according to the agency. More than 1,700 were deported.

“Not all countries take in deportees, like Cuba – it’s really difficult – or Somalia, it’s difficult for ICE to deport people to countries with complicated diplomatic relationships,” Barbour said. “People can often languish in jail for months while ICE tries to secure travel documents and that can be costly to taxpayers.”

Kintu’s case remained in immigration court for five years. Last Wednesday he finally received his green card.

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“It was magical. I felt like I was free,” he said.

Immigration court is not the same as a criminal court. Everyone who works there is an employee of the Department of Justice and appointed by the Attorney General.

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