
Ask HN: I Got Deported from USA to Kenya - abdinba
I was sent to Somalia when deported but came to Kenya thankful with a little bit of money from my mom to help me move out of Somalia. I&#x27;m homeless in Kenya.<p>I would like to get into UK I have aunt that lives there<p>anything I can do? I&#x27;m struggling I&#x27;ve lived in Seattle for 20 years now I&#x27;m living here I barely can find water to drink it&#x27;s a different life that&#x27;s for sure but I&#x27;m managing to survive. I made some mistakes in America that got me deported to this hell-hole.<p>Any advice will help in how I can get into Europe or Canada.Please no negativity I&#x27;ve paid dearly for my mistakes.<p>I got deported during trump administrations. I caught a  Robbery . I updated it. from 2008. But I wasn&#x27;t deported at the time of the charge I&#x27;ve had other misdemeanors like selling drugs and DUI recently which got me deported
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s_dev
This seems really odd for Hacker News. This isn't what the site is for --
besides theres little help available here because this could easily be a scam
as are all "cries for help" on the Internet and mods should take it down.

~~~
rlt
Yeah I have to agree. It would be one thing if the poster were a known member
of the HN community, or any adjacent community, but it's a brand new account.
I don't think this kind of posting is sustainable.

~~~
xky
It's possible this person is known to the HN community but would prefer to
keep their identity private for this question however I agree with your
sentiment, these posts should only be accepted in exceptional circumstances.
There are other, perhaps even more beneficial places to ask for this kind of
help.

I would genuinely like to know more about how this person is connected to this
community or how they discovered it and what they thought this community in
particular could assist with. Could you address that OP?

~~~
gus_massa
His brother posted a message 29 days ago. I don't expect both to be regular
users hiding their identity
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19592367](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19592367)

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ackidacki
Its highly unlikely you'll get to the UK as you have a record which will be
visible to the UK authorities & fail the character test. If you apply i'd also
advise you not to try and hide it as it would worsen the situation.

Have you considered Nairobi, it is quite a nice place and far from "hell
hole". You would not have much trouble accessing it and it has a relatively
good standard of life, good jobs and prospects.

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albertgoeswoof
So much apathy in this thread.

This guy came to the US as a child (3 years old!), was educated in the US,
became a criminal in the US, committed all his crimes in the US and the USA’s
answer to this is to deport him?

Come on, the USA made the criminal and they should deal with him. Why should
Somalia or Kenya have him on their streets? They didn’t turn a 3 year old into
a criminal. You shouldn’t be able to send your criminals to another country.

@OP, I would talk to a journalist as there’s a story here. You may then be
able to get pro bono legal advice to have your original deportation thrown
out, or perhaps the ability to claim asylum as you should be able to.

~~~
RickJWagner
The USA made him a criminal? I completely disagree.

The USA has many people with similar stories who did not become criminals and
who were not forcibly deported.

This guy made some bad choices. I'd think he'd prefer Kenya to prison.

~~~
ZeroFries
Many people can live in smog and not develop lung issues. That doesn't mean
those responsible for smog shouldn't also be responsible for the people who do
develop lung issues from it.

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DKnoll
With a criminal record it will be extremely difficult to get a visa, let alone
residency, in Canada or the UK. You would need to get a pardon, wait like a
decade from the time of your last conviction or find some other way to prove
your rehabilitation. Those are pretty serious offenses and countries don't
want to import liabilities.

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_Chief
I don't appreciate your calling Kenya a hell-hole, after it gave you refugee
shelter from Somalia.

After your criminal activity in the United States, I doubt the UK or even
Kenyan authorities would allow you such status.

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ndury
I think you're better off trying to ask for information/help here
[https://www.reddit.com/r/immigration/](https://www.reddit.com/r/immigration/)
rather than on HN.

Good luck

~~~
xky
This seems like a much better course of action OP.

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cs_advice
You might try to enroll on an university degree, like bachelor or master. In
many universities of Europe is free or like 200€ per year/semester. Then you
can apply to accommodation aids and even other kind of aids for food etc.

Start a new life from zero, learning a job, also working (there are student
jobs and also the traditional jobs). Luxembourg (where I'am right now) is
pretty good for that, there are plenty of opportunities, you'll also be fine
only speaking english. Learning languages here is also almost free.

Try to look something like that. Other interesting cities for that are
Maastricht (netherlands) or maybe in Germany. Good luck.

~~~
gingabriska
Isn't Sweden offering asylum and it seems from his case can qualify for one?
As he came to the US at 3 and still got deported now his survival is
threatened as he only learnt how to live in a developed western world.

~~~
qnsi
Asylum is not given simply for living in developing world.

~~~
gingabriska
I wasn't aware of that, thank you for the new info.

But isn't his life is endangered as the person lived on mineral water and
clean air for most of his life in the US and how can he cope up with a much
harsher environment there.

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fsloth
Kenya seems like a very liveable country:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenya](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenya)

Are you legally there?

Describing Kenya as a "hell-hole" sounds like a bit of a stretch. Although I
do understand it's not nice to be homeless anywhere.

"I would like to get into UK I have aunt that lives there"

You are 30 years old. Why would you need any help from relatives? Take
ownership of your life. Don't put as your life goal to find the next shoulder
to lean on. I know it's hard to be physically separated from your family and
friends and everyone you knew. But it's _your_ life.

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dazhbog
What is your skill set?

Try and get to a sustainable position as soon as possible (stable monthly
money for a roof and food. No drugs). Maybe it involves going to another area
or a nearby country. Maybe it involves getting a shitty job for a while.

As other said, it will be hard to get a visa for a while, so you will need to
think if you should stay in Kenya or not. Work your ass for at least 5-8 years
and maybe u can get a residency there + a paper that says that u have a clean
record in that country. If things go well in Kenya, and you are stable for
7ish years u can apply for a citizenship. Once you are a citizen of Kenya (or
any country you can have a stable life with no crime) you can try and change
your name and get a clean criminal record certificate on that name. Then you
can think of attempting to apply for visas.

Also once you have food and roof, I would suggest checking the online
freelancer route. Making money online might be a good way to bump up your
income while working locally, and with more money, more doors will open for
you. Also online, people won't really care about your criminal record.

Good luck, and I hope you stay away from crime while attempting to get a job.

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bbbobbb
That's messed up. Deporting somebody who has been in the country since they
were a kid to a place they might not know anything about seems pretty cruel,
regardless of your criminal history. After 20 years, you should be dealt with
like any other citizen (however shitty that might be in the US).

On the other hand, I could see temporary deportation (with means to get back
after some weeks / months) as an interesting punishment -> maybe realizing
that not breaking the laws and working a shit job in the US beats scavenging
for water in Africa..

Anyways, I have no advice for you, no idea what I would do in your position
but I wish you luck.. hope you can get into UK or somewhere and start fresh.

~~~
curiousgal
> _beats scavenging for water in Africa._

Beats scavenging for water in _Kenya_.

This is a petpeeve of mine and for some reason I expected to see less of it on
HN, not all of Africa is a hell hole where people have to scavenge for water.

I know I'm beating a dead horse with the "Africa is not a country" saying but
it ircks me to see that subconsciously not many people are making that
distinction.

~~~
busymom0
OP themselves described where they currently are as "hell-hole" (OP's words).

~~~
curiousgal
Following the same logic, OP is on planet Earth then planet Earth is a hell-
hole.

~~~
busymom0
Are you being dense on purpose?

To quote OP directly:

> I made some mistakes in America that got me deported to this hell-hole.

OP couldn't be any more clearer by their current living situation and
surroundings.

~~~
curiousgal
You seem to be the one being dense on purpose, your quote is precisely what I
am talking about. He said that where he is is a hell-hole, that place being
Kenya not the entire continent of Africa as the top comment says.

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mattlondon
Looks like you will need a work visa for the UK - I don't think an aunt will
work for a UK family visa: see [https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-
visa](https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa) and [https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-
visa](https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa)

This usually means you are a "skilled worker" and usually already have a job
offer. There is a lot of pressure in the UK to prove that there is no one
already in the UK able to do the work before a visa is possible (from what I
understand - not an expert)

Your criminal past will be a problem whatever visa you go for though - robbery
and selling drugs are not exactly something that is going to work in your
favour. Some details here:
[https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-
record-c...](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-record-
certificate-requirement)

The mood in the UK is quite anti-immigration at the moment. Both from
politicians and a large part of the public outside of the major cities (due to
Brexit).

I am pro-immigration and I can empathise with your position and situation, but
I'm sorry to say that even I would personally not be comfortable with someone
with your criminal record (who has already been deported from one country
because of their criminality) being allowed to come and live in the UK just
because you have an aunt that lives here.

Good luck.

~~~
badpun
> The mood in the UK is quite anti-immigration at the moment. Both from
> politicians and a large part of the public outside of the major cities (due
> to Brexit).

It's the other way around - the politicians and brexit are merely reflecting
the anti-immigration mood that people have, and have had in the past.

~~~
mattlondon
Quite right - I did not make myself clear. Brexit is the manifestation of the
simmering discontent (rightly or wrongly) with immigration.

------
LyndsySimon
Out of curiosity, how did you come to be in the US, and at what age? What is
your native nationality?

~~~
abdinba
I came to US as a refugee left Somalia during war around 1992 I was young I'm
30 years old now.

~~~
zerr
Why you weren't naturalized during this period?

~~~
noobermin
He potentially never sought it out. I mean, there are people who never bother
to finish high school or their GED.

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wnkrshm
Are there any locals here that can shed some light on the Kenyan economy / job
market? All I've done is to read a little bit from cursory googling but I'd be
interested in what it's like and what the chances for an early 30s foreigner
are, for bootstrapping themselves.

I wouldn't even know what to do in my own country, except try to acquire as
high an education as I can manage while working (vocational training, parallel
Bsc or something). If I get through the application process at that age.

From what I read in 15 minutes, the job market for white collar jobs in Kenya
seems to be oversaturated and companies can pick from the mass of graduates.
Yet skilled manual labor is something that I've read is lacking in training
for specialist technical jobs, like plumbing, electrical installation,
welding.

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pewpewpew777
You made some bad choices - that's unfortunate.

If you can't bring yourself to America or Europe - you should bring some
America to Kenya.

Lead by example - find the water, don't rob it, and teach newly arrived
deportees how to stay hydrated. As your group of stateless friends continues
to grow - so too does your ability to positively impact your new Kenyan
environment.

Remember -- life has brought you to this moment for a reason. Make the best of
it. Make peace with being in Africa. Raise up your neighbors and together
build for the future.

~~~
noobermin
You either watch too much TV/shows or have never lived on your own. This is a
ridiculous suggestion to anyone.

~~~
xky
Why is this a ridiculous suggestion and would you propose something else?

~~~
noobermin
Americans don't do well because they have good education and a good work
ethic, they do well because the society around them have a good education and
people with a good work ethic. You can't drop an individual in the middle of
nowhere and expect them to thrive easily.

Tbh, I don't know what to suggest other than to try to find work and figure
out a way to survive. What else can one do? Making a commune on the other hand
sounds ridiculous when he probably can't even speak the local language.

~~~
ZeroFries
I don't think a commune was suggested at all, rather making the best of your
situation by trying to help others. It's a very good suggestion. Those things
happen in TV and movies but they also happen in real life.

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abdinba
Why didn't I get some prison time at least instead of just sending me to a
place I know nothing about? I lived in the US For 20 years for Godsakes trump
is Evil person.

Are there any journalists I can tell my story too I'm stranded in a country I
don't know 1 thing about. I think the way I was deported was Illegal too I
went to county jail for a few days for some misdemeanor crimes and got hurried
up into a plane out of no where heading to Somalia and just dropped in the
middle of no where.

~~~
hackermailman
Canada and Australia also deport gangsters or career offenders back to India,
Iraq and Somalia all the time who grew up here this is a common practice no
journo would be interested in. Only way out is through education at this
point. At least you can stay in Mombasa which is a pretty good city as way as
developing countries go.

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vfinn
Well, if you have no money, you could try selling your story. If you contact
the right people, you could make several hundreds of dollars. Publicity might
eventually lead to help. Learn from your mistakes, and become a trustworthy
person. Then you will have friends and a future.

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fragsworth
Your "mistakes" matter, because depending on their severity, people will be
more or less likely to help you.

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gingabriska
just out of curiousity if that's not a secret, what did you which got you
deported?

~~~
abdinba
Robbery . I updated it. from 2008. But I wasn't deported at the time of the
charge I've had other misdemeanors like selling drugs recently which got me
deported

~~~
erfgh
You're unlikely to get help.

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jamisteven
I dont think you'll be getting any advice here when you fail to mention what
you did to get kicked out.

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sparkling
> Any advice will help in how I can get into Europe or Canada.Please no
> negativity I've paid dearly for my mistakes.

A german right-wing army member managed to get official asylum status faking
to be a syrian refugee despite not speaking a single word of arabic. So if
your question is where are you most likely not gonna get caught due to
goverment incompetence and lack of law enforcement, i'd suggest Germany.
Enjoy.

