Three Minnesota men facing deportation receive temporary stay

(KMSP) - Fox 9 has learned the fate of five Somali men awaiting deportation from Minnesota.

The attorney representing the men contacted Fox 9 and said at the last minute a judge decided to re-open their cases. Instead of heading back to Somalia, three men could be coming back to their families in Minnesota as early as next week

“I think we were doing our best to keep hope alive for as many people as we could,” said John Bruning, their immigration attorney.

According to the attorneys, none of the five men facing deportation had a criminal record and at one point did have legal status to be in the U.S., but that status changed and they became in violation of immigration law. Arrests of undocumented immigrants are skyrocketing under President Trump's administration, including those who don't have a criminal past. 

This morning, Bruning and his partner Kim Hunter learned three of their five clients fighting deportation back to Somalia will temporarily get to stay in the U.S.

“Very grateful and very excited to return to their families,” said Bruning.

The law partners say the last 48 hours have been a scramble of phone calls to immigration officials and running to the federal courthouse at the last minute to get emergency stays, so their clients can argue their cases to permanently live in the U.S.

Of the three Minnesota men who were allowed to stay is Abubakar Sheikh, who is a longtime John Deere employee in Fargo. He was literally stopped from boarding the plane in Louisiana just before takeoff.

“He basically got up in the morning with everyone else got in line and asked ICE why he wasn’t being put on the plane and they just said you’re not on the list anymore,” said Bruning.

But the attorneys say they wish all five were able to go back to their families. One of the men deported was a cardiovascular technician at the Mayo Clinic.