Asylum Seeker Fights to Return to Minnesota from Central African Republic

A legal battle over a Nicaraguan man’s return from Africa

Kenis Lopez Gonzalez is currently waiting in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, hoping for a flight back to Minnesota. A federal judge ordered his return to the United States last week, but U.S. attorneys are fighting to delay that order, leaving him stuck in a country where he has no legal status, no connections, and no protection from being deported back to Nicaragua—a country where he fears government persecution. MPR News reported that Lopez Gonzalez, an asylum seeker who had been living in Shakopee since 2022, saw the judge’s decision as a “glimmer of relief,” noting it made him feel that the law was being followed.

After being arrested by ICE agents outside his home in January, Lopez Gonzalez was moved through various detention centers in Texas and Louisiana. Because a judge had previously barred his deportation to Nicaragua due to his involvement in 2018 anti-government protests, authorities instead flew him to the Central African Republic.

Man deported to Central African Republic from Minnesota: “My life is at high risk”

According to data from the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Migrants and Third Country Deportation Watch, Lopez Gonzalez is one of more than 25,000 immigrants deported to third countries under the Trump administration. The U.S. government has entered agreements with several nations to accept these deportees, including the Central African Republic, which received $85 million from the U.S. government for operations through the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Difficult living conditions in Bangui

Life in the Central African Republic has been a struggle for Lopez Gonzalez. In a virtual press conference reported by CBS News, he described a daily existence marked by health concerns. He noted that he has contracted malaria.

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The environment is further complicated by security risks. Human Rights Watch has also documented reports of deportees facing extortion and imprisonment in Bangui.

While the building where he stays is guarded by the IOM, Lopez Gonzalez said the guards provide little information. He remains unsure of his exact legal status. His attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, described the situation as a “very inconvenient and very long layover” on the way to a country the U.S. is already prohibited from sending him to directly.

Vo mn deportation case wccobmja — Photo: cbsnews.com

The legal fight to return to Minnesota

The legal battle now centers on whether the federal government must comply with Judge Jeffrey Bryan’s order to bring Lopez Gonzalez home.

“It’s all just a very inconvenient and very long layover on the way back to whatever country the U.S. has already been prohibited from deporting him to,” said attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg.

The impact of this case extends to the local community in the Twin Cities. Supporters from the labor advocacy group Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha (CTUL) have been monitoring the case. Lucho Gomez, CTUL’s director of campaign strategy, told CBS News that the group is hoping the government facilitates the process quickly so Lopez Gonzalez can spend the holiday break with his family in Minnesota.

Minnesota immigrant stranded in Central African Republic as feds fight return

Even if the government complies with the court’s timeline, the return could take weeks. There is also the persistent risk that the Central African Republic could eventually deport him back to Nicaragua, a scenario Sandoval-Moshenberg says he has seen happen to other clients.