DEAF, DISABLED DETROIT IMMIGRANT IN US FOR 34 YEARS FACES DEPORTATION
Born and raised in Nigeria, Francis Anwana was just 14 years old when he came to the United States on a student visa. He was deaf, couldn't talk, and had cognitive disabilities, enrolling at the Michigan School for the Deaf in Flint. Now 48, Anwana lives in Detroit at an adult foster care facility, helping mow the lawns and mop the floors at a nearby church on Detroit's west side. But in a shock to immigrant advocates, the U.S. now wants to deport Anwana to Nigeria, a country he has not lived since he was a teenager. Given his severe disabilities, it would be a virtual "death sentence" for him, said Susan Reed, an attorney with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center. Because of his disability, Anwana can only read at a second-grade level and is unable to mentally grasp the fact he could be forced to go back to Nigeria, according to advocates and his lawyer. On Wednesday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told Anwana he would be deported on Tuesday, S...