PHILADELPHIA – Christian M’Bagoyi walked into the Philadelphia ICE office as ordered on Friday morning, accompanied by his wife, Sarika, both uncertain if he would be walking out. Twenty-six minutes later he appeared — relieved and smiling that he wasn’t detained and deported — as two dozen supporters on the sidewalk broke into cheers and applause for the West African immigrant. He and his wife stepped immediately into the arms of Erika Guadalupe Nunez, a Juntos organizer, tears flowing in relief.
“Thank you. The biggest thanks I can offer,” he told the crowd. “I think I would have been detained if the people had not been here.
M‘Bagoyi, 42, of Bucks County, was ordered to appear in person as he “has a final order of removal and has exhausted all forms of immigration relief,” although he appears to fall outside of new ICE guidelines that dramatically narrow the agency’s enforcement priorities.
“Organizing works. Thank you. Thank you,” Sarika said, barely able to go on. “You are instrumental in keeping our family together. We have never felt so supported and loved.”
New Biden administration guidelines tell ICE to focus on people who pose serious threats to the public — M’Bagoyi has no criminal record, and lives peacefully with his wife and daughters — so the demand for an in-person check-in was ominous, his family and attorney said.
For immigrants, particularly those with deportation orders, the outcome of a physical visit to ICE is unpredictable and potentially life-altering.
Some people walk in, confirm the information on file, and are back outside in 15 minutes. Some can be inside for hours. Others never come out — detained and then deported.
ICE officials have offered no comment on M’Bagoyi’s case.
More than 3,100 people have signed an online petition calling on President Joe Biden to assist M’Bagoyi, who came to the United States about 20 years ago, at age 21, after his ethnic background put him at risk in West Africa. He did not want to reveal his homeland in an interview.
He legally entered the United States on a tourist visa, but then stayed after it expired, he said. His request for asylum was denied.
He was allowed to stay in the country under an ICE order of supervision, which provides a Social Security number and employment permission. Undocumented immigrants can spend years under supervision while living, working, paying taxes, building families — then suddenly be scheduled for quick deportations.
That’s what happened, for instance, to Clive and Oneita Thompson, an undocumented Jamaican couple who spent more than two years living inside Philadelphia churches to avoid deportation, until the federal government dropped its case in December.
For 14 years the Thompsons were allowed to work and raise their seven children in the tiny South Jersey community of Cedarville, then phoned at work and given a week to leave the country.
M’Bagoyi’s wife is a U.S. citizen, and they have two daughters, ages 1 and 3, who are also citizens. Two immigration appeals are pending in court.
He works as a union carpenter and has been studying to become trained in information technology. Sarika is a marketing-and-advertising consultant, holding a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Boston University and a master’s in public health from Hunter College in New York City.
The drama surrounding the fate of one family unfolds as activists here and elsewhere decry the recent deportations of hundreds of Black immigrants to dangerous countries like Haiti, and question whether ICE will resist implementing Biden administration reforms.
The president issued a moratorium on deportations Jan. 20, which has been blocked by a federal judge in Texas. Black lawmakers in Washington have urged him to stop the expulsions.
Last week acting ICE Acting Director Tae Johnson issued new guidelines that dramatically narrow the scope of enforcement, directing agents to focus on those who pose risks to national security, border security, or public safety.
The guidance essentially tells ICE officers to go after the worst offenders first, similar to the priorities that were in place under former President Barack Obama. Under President Donald Trump, ICE was unleashed to arrest anyone who lacked permission to be in the United States.
The new guidance defined national-security priorities as people who have committed terrorism or espionage, or are suspected of being involved in those crimes. Border security includes people taken into custody at the line or a port of entry. And public safety applies to those convicted of an aggravated felony or an offense committed as part of a street gang or a drug cartel.
M’Bagoyi does not fit those priorities, said Philadelphia immigration attorney Matthew Archambeault, who represents the family.
In deciding whether someone endangers the public, the guidelines state, ICE agents are to consider the seriousness of the offense but also personal factors such as family circumstances, health, and ties to the community.
The guidance also states, however, that it’s important for ICE to deport immigrants who have final removal orders and who had been in detention for at least 90 days after the order was issued. ICE told M’Bagoyi that he fits those circumstances, supporters said.
