FEBRUARY 6, 2021 UPDATED FACT SHEET: FREE PASTOR STEVEN TENDO FROM ICE DETENTION NOW

Steven Tendo is a young Pastor from Uganda who has now been detained at the ICE Port Isabel Detention Center for more than two years, despite the resulting severe damage to his mental and physical health.  Although former ICE Director Pham agreed in September 2020 to stay the removal of Pastor Steven until a final ruling by the Fifth Circuit, recent statements by local officials suggest plans to deport him nonetheless. We are gravely concerned that during our current turbulent government transition, he will be whisked back to Uganda with little or no notice. He has already suffered various tortures by the government there, including the amputation of two of his fingers. Credible Ugandan witnesses confirm that if deported, he will be seized by  security forces and killed. His date of birth is Nov. 24, 1984, and his ICE A-number is 201-520-012. We call for his immediate release on parole, and for full compliance with the protections of the Convention Against Torture.

In Uganda, Pastor Steven organized community support projects, providing food, health services and educational assistance to the needy. As the government repression and corruption grew in his homeland, he began a human rights campaign as well, assisting political prisoners and leading a voting rights effort. His work intersected with reform efforts by presidential candidate Bobby Wine, who has also been subjected to extreme persecution by President Museveni. The first time Pastor Steven was apprehended, he was severely tortured and two fingers were amputated. He was beaten and tortured many times since then. He was also repeatedly subjected to false charges of fraud but was acquitted by the courts of each and every claim. As attacks against him, his family, and his followers worsened, he was forced to flee in 2018. He lawfully walked across the international bridge to the Brownsville, Texas Port of Entry in December 2018. More than two years later, he remains detained at the Port Isabel Detention Center. Although he is diabetic, has never committed a crime, and has two offers of eligible sponsorship, parole was denied. Shockingly inadequate medical care at the facility caused a diabetic crisis in early 2020, damaged his immune system and left him near blind for many months. Although medically vulnerable to Covid-19, he was not still released as the epidemic flared. Given the terrible conditions, he became ill and his immune system fell to  dangerously low levels for some time. He is still exposed to Covid-19 and other serious infections. Constant threats to deport him have caused blood pressure and related eye problems as well. His trauma is severe.

 If deported, Ugandan witnesses confirm that he will be tortured and killed. Despite everything, ICE scheduled him for deportation Monday Sept. 7, 2020. Only emergency intervention by Congressional leaders prevented his deportation and death. Now he is at risk again.

Legal Status: Inexplicably, Steven was initially denied asylum in 2019 even though the same judge granted asylum to one of his followers. The BIA denied his appeal. Ugandan officials, assuming he had already returned, took immediate action. A relative was attacked and beaten so badly she was hospitalized with head injuries. There was a barrage of threats and intimidation against his family and friends. A Ugandan official risked her own safety to write and confirm not only Steven’s past torture, but that as soon as he steps off the plane in Uganda, he will be taken away by security officers and killed. Steven’s attorneys have filed a Petition for Review to the Fifth Circuit, and a Motion for Stay of Removal. On June 16, 2020 the Fifth Circuit denied the stay, as it usually does. The Petition for Review is still pending on the merits, and a Motion to Reconsider the Denial of the Motion to Reopen has been filed with the BIA and is pending as well. There are very strong grounds for remanding the case for a new trial.

In September 2020, ICE Director Pham exercised his discretion to await the final court ruling , but local officials once again are telling Steven that he will be deported. Given the many secretive “death flights” still being programmed, especially for Black asylum seekers, we are extremely concerned. The Ugandan government has responded to our efforts with fury, insisting that Pastor Steven engaged in multiple acts of fraud (despite the Ugandan court acquittals), and pressing for his return.  Their aggression only increases our concern.

We ask that Pastor Steven Tendo be released forthwith to his sponsors, and that his right to protection from deportation to torture and death, as set forth in the Convention Against Torture, be fully respected and enforced.

Jennifer Harbury, Angry Tias and Abuelas of the Rio Grande Valley

How can you help? Refer to our CALL TO ACTION HERE.