Return to Sender

Courtesy of Hennepin County Sheriff's Office

No way out: Keyse Jama has been imprisoned for more than three years as federal authorities have attempted to deport him to Somalia

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More About

• Keyse Jama
• Michele Garnett McKenzie
• U.S. Supreme Court
• Immigration
• Illegal Immigration and Deportation

Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center, says that one of the deportees was killed in Mogadishu. He claims that anyone returning to Somalia from the U.S. is assumed to be either wealthy or an American spy, designations that all but guarantee danger, if not death. "Either way he's cooked," Jamal notes.

Perhaps the Supreme Court can untangle the legal mess. Jama has until November 6 to request that the high court hear his case, but by that time he may well be back in Somalia. According to Garnett McKenzie, her client is uncertain if he wants to continue pursuing the matter and face the prospect of further time behind bars. "He's frustrated; he's tired; he is confused," she says, "He's deathly afraid to return to Somalia, but he's seriously considering doing that given what he's facing now."