Update: Steven Tendo was released from his ICE check-in on Monday without incident. His asylum case is still pending.
Pastor Steven Tendo is an asylum-seeker from Uganda, currently residing in Colchester. He crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in 2018 after experiencing what he says were numerous arrests and torture in his home country.
In January, Tendo received a last-minute summons from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in St. Albans. He feared he would be deported, and around 80 people showed up at the office to rally in support of him. He was allowed to stay.
On Monday, Tendo is scheduled to return for another ICE check-in. As with past appointments, he has no idea what will happen.
Tendo joined Vermont Public's Jenn Jarecki live in-studio ahead of his Monday, July 21, ICE check-in. This interview was produced for the ear. We highly recommend listening to the audio. We’ve also provided a transcript, which has been edited for length and clarity.
Jenn Jarecki: Pastor Tendo, good morning. It is a momentous morning. You're due to appear before ICE in just a couple of hours, as I mentioned. So, I'd like to start with just how you're doing right now. Would you explain to listeners, you know, what you're thinking and feeling in this moment?
Steven Tendo: It's some kind of a mix of feelings, of course. But at the same time, I recognize the fact that, unlike other ICE agent offices elsewhere in the country, I've come to appreciate St. Albans for the few times that I've been there.
Yes, it's a scary moment, but they've been so humane. They've been so cautious. They've been so nice to me. And based on that, I don't want to assume the best, but I also don't want to assume the worst, so I am in the middle.
Jenn Jarecki: Well, it may seem like a silly question, but I mean, did you sleep OK last night? Are you going about, sort, of your normal routine this morning or do things feel markedly different?
Steven Tendo: It was a little bit different because at such moments like that, that's when you want to get close to your Creator and ask him what is going to happen, or ask him to give you the grace to go through such a moment.
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Jenn Jarecki: Well, you've obviously done these check-ins before, as you mentioned. Will you walk us through what typically happens during these hearings?
Steven Tendo: What happens is they ask you whether there is anything that has changed in your situation. Have you changed the address? Have you filed anything in support of your claim? Is there any pending issues that you want to bring to their attention? Or if they determine that you're to be removed. Sometimes, the stories that I've heard, they do not warn you. That's the time when you face it raw, to be removed.
I think that if they sent me back, they will be sending me to my grave.Pastor Steven Tendo
Jenn Jarecki: Well, as you've been thinking about what might happen today, you know, what is going through your mind about what you think could go on at today's hearing?
Steven Tendo: It's very unpredictable based on the waves of fear that have been flying all over the country and the stories that are happening. Yes, I'm not a criminal. I've not done anything wrong. I've always been prompt on my check-ins. I've alerted them even when I'm moving out of the state for 24 hours. I've really had a great working relationship with them. But that withstanding, I cannot predict what they might want to do.
Jenn Jarecki: Are you bringing anyone with you to your ICE check-in today?
Steven Tendo: Well, I work with the hospital of University of Vermont Medical Center, and some of my colleagues intend to be with me, to support me, and a few members of the community and some church members.
Jenn Jarecki: Have you allowed yourself to imagine what happens if you are forced to leave the United States after today's check-in?
Steven Tendo: That would mean that they will have determined my end of life.
So, it's hard to think, but if all they would want to do is to take me back to Uganda, based on my activities even here — associating myself with opposition politicians here and supporting the reforms that I so dearly value and believe in, I think that if they sent me back, they will be sending me to my grave.
