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Professor Will Teach Despite Threats Of Deportation

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Augsburg University Prof. Dr. Mzenga Wanyama says he will continue to teach his English students despite Immigration and Customs Enforcement threats for deportation.

"I am determined to teach my fall courses while the courts consider the motions my attorneys have filed," Wanyama said. "I will do my job for the sake of the students, my department, my discipline and my community. Refugees and immigrants, including many of our students, are facing great difficulty existing in the U.S. in this historical moment. I stand with my students and community."

Wanyama's asylum status is currently pending, which until recently, was not grounds in which it was customary for ICE to consider deportation. Attempts to deport Wanyama started last spring even though he had been following all official procedures, including checking in monthly with ICE.

Wanyama has garnered high levels of support, ranging from fellow colleagues, to those holding public office.

"Dr. Wanyama is a great asset to Minnesota," Gov. Mark Dayton said. "I attest that he is fully welcome here. Please allow him to stay."

In a collective statement from other professors at Augsburg, they declared their support. It reads:

"The Augsburg University faculty calls on the U.S. government to halt plans for the unjust deportation of our colleague Professor Mzenga Wanyama and his spouse and Augsburg nursing student Mary Mzenga and to permit their continued work and residence in the U.S. We stand against the anti-immigrant sentiment that is prompting the current wave of deportations and proudly affirm our status as an institution that supports the many immigrant and refugee members of our academic community."

Threats to Wanyama have continued, despite him having two relief motions pending. One motion would reopen his asylum case based on changed country conditions, and the other would grant a waiver of one of the conditions of his original non-immigrant visa, permitting him to stay and work in Minnesota.

Wanyama's attorney is currently filing for a stay of deportation with the Board of Immigration Appeals, and supporters of Wanyama have started a GoFundMe to help pay for his rising legal costs.

Wanyama's case gained national attention after students led protests and rallies at the ICE building, on campus and outside of Sen. Amy Klobuchar's office.

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