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Sam Kang’ethe self-deported from the United States in the summer of 2025. He took this bold decision when it dawned on him that he was facing two choices: to either return to Kenya on his own volition or face the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) which was itching to arrest and deport him.
Moving from the United States to Kenya was no easy choice at all. He left behind a wife and three children aged 13, 11, and five years at his home in Lansing, Michigan.
“I resigned to go back to Kenya in May 2025,” he told the media, adding that his wife had prepared their kids about their father’s imminent departure from the United States.
Mr. Kang’ethe told the media that although he chose self-deportation from US, he has no criminal record in the country. However, he was facing removal from the country after an immigration official ruled that a previous marriage that he had entered into in 2014 was fraudulent.
He had a court case in court whose hearing was scheduled to take place in January 2026. He was planning to present evidence that the ruling by the immigration official was wrong. However, having a pending court case could not prevent ICE from going after him. Apparently, with the ruling by the immigration official, Kang’ethe was legally deportable.
“You see people being picked up when they drop their kids off at school. And these were the kind of things I used to do. I cannot imagine myself taking my kids to school and then being picked up by the ICE,” said Kang’ethe during an interview with local media.
Kang’ethe holds a Master’s degree in finance from the Central Michigan University and says that he is currently applying for jobs in Kenya as he adjusts to his new life.
Asked about his wife and kids, Kang’ethe said that they understand that he did not abandon them. He left to be safe.
“I explained and made them understand that I was not abandoning them by self-deporting from the US. I wasn’t leaving them. I was only leaving to be safe,” he said.
READ MORE: Are Kenyans in US snitching on other Kenyans to be deported by ICE?
