Kenyans embroiled in new US crackdown on immigrants

The noose is tightening on millions of illegal immigrants in the US, including thousands of Kenyans.

On Thursday, Senators from President Obama’s Democratic Party outlined plans to overhaul immigration laws to ensure all workers in the US verify their identity through fingerprints or an eye scan.

An estimated 12 million illegal immigrants live in the US. Majority of Kenyans who are in this unlawful loop are at the greatest risk of joining a steady stream of returnees.

The scheme is aimed at controlling the flow of low-skilled immigrants in order to protect jobs for native Americans.

Senator Charles Schumer, who is pushing the plans, told American media that a national system to verify work documents was necessary because the US Congress had failed to crack down on immigrants with fake documents.

Finger printing and eye scan strategy seeks to block unscrupulous workers who have been using their relatives or friends’ national social security numbers to obtain work.

No permission

“Because they have no permission to work in the US, they use their colleagues’ numbers and are hardly detected,” said a Kenyan working in the US who did not want to be named.

Mr Schumer said legislation will require the 12 million illegal immigrants to register with the government and “submit to a rigorous process to convert to legal status” or face immediate deportation.

Native Americans are unhappy with the immigrants who they accuse of taking away their jobs.

Mr Roy Beck, founder of Numbers USA, a group that advocates limiting immigration asked the senators to pass the legislation.

“Every Democrat in a competitive district knows that will be the question next year: Why did they vote for more foreign workers while 14 million workers are unemployed?”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told foreign media that he was optimistic that the legislation will be passed. “I think we have the floor votes to do it.”

On Friday, President Obama met with 20 senators to build consensus over the matter. Attempts to pass similar legislation have been defeated by intense lobbying by companies benefiting from the same.

As some Kenyans troop back home from overseas due disappearing jobs and dwindling opportunities, others are stuck there with the hope that things will look up.

Mr Okong’o Ogeto, who lives in the US, says Kenyans are a resilient and a lucky lot.

“They know the economic situation isn’t any better in Kenya, so they prefer to stay put in the US.”

A number of them work in the health-care industry, which tends to be more “recession-proof.” These health jobs are among the least attractive to native Americans.

He says a significant number of those who leave the US don’t do so permanently.

Long vacations

“They take advantage of the economic downturn to take long vacations and attend to matters in their native country that they have neglected over the years.”

And despite the global crisis, he says, more Kenyans are flying in every day as others leave.

“Just last weekend, I was invited to a welcome-to-America party for a man and his three children who had arrived the week before. The husband’s wife has been living here alone for six years.”

He says a younger man also arrived the same week to attend the graduation of a relative and plans to stay in the US.

Foreign Affairs assistant minister Richard Onyonka says five of his relatives had come back home from the US in recent weeks and many of them left everything there.

And they are not alone on this return journey.

Millions of expatriate factory and construction workers, bankers, household servants from China, India, South Korea, African countries such as Ghana, Nigeria Ghana are also on the road back to their home countries.

Mr Ogeto acknowledges that there are illegal immigrants from Kenya who don’t want to return home because they know they will not return to the US.

Some are stuck in the US for the fear of returning empty-handed to villages that expect a lot from them and the prospect of joblessness in Kenya.