Kenyans in US cautioned
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http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/news. ... 1143973528
By Chris Wamalwa in Delaware, US

Kenyans in the US have been advised to be alert as Federal and State officials have stepped up crackdown on illegal immigrants.

An internet circular and church warnings by some pastors tell Kenyans to steer clear of situations that would bring them in contact with law enforcement agents.

Already, the warnings and a public appearance by a Kenyan immigration lawyer have caused anxiety among Kenyans.

Following recent crackdown by Federal and State agencies, hundreds of people have been rounded up and put in detention centres to await deportation. Most of the arrests are on non-felony charges, like traffic offences.

An e-mail alert suspected to have originated from a Kenyan organisation based in New Jersey, The Public Eye, warns Kenyans to avoid finding themselves in situations where their identities have to be scrutinised.

In an interview with The Sunday Standard in New Jersey, the New York-based immigration lawyer, Mr Noel Mpaka, said the situation is bound to get worse.

He attributes the recent crackdowns on the defeat of President Bush’s immigration legislation in the US Senate.

"These people (Homeland Security) are in a hurry to prove that they can still enforce the old laws so they do away with the proposed ones. Towards this end, they are going to crack the whip. The message I am passing to Kenyans especially the youth is simple: don’t drink and drive, don’t fight with your girlfriend, stay away from illegal drugs and give the police a wide berth," he told The Sunday Standard.

The e-mail alert cites the case in which the New Jersey state Attorney General Ms Anne Milgram recently ordered all law enforcement authorities to notify federal immigration officials whenever an illegal immigrant is arrested for an indictable offence or drink driving.

This, according to reports in the American press, is already going on in other states.

Many murder cases in the US among Kenyans remain unresolved because witnesses fear to come out and testify.