A Kenyan national has been placed in US immigration custody after a tractor-trailer crash in Tennessee, with authorities saying he had remained in the country beyond the period allowed under his immigration status.
Eric Maloba was arrested in Hamblen County after the crash and later taken into the custody of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
According to ICE, Maloba was in the United States unlawfully when he was arrested. The agency said he had entered the country legally in October 2018 but overstayed his authorised period of admission, which expired in April 2019.
“A 287(g) Task Force partner arrested Eric Maloba, an illegal alien from Kenya, following a tractor-trailer crash,” ICE said in a statement.
The agency said Maloba was also a holder of a Texas commercial driver’s licence and was reportedly helping train another person who was seeking to obtain a commercial driver’s licence when the crash occurred.
Investigators found that Maloba had the Texas-issued licence and was acting as an instructor for the trainee at the time of the accident.
ICE subsequently took Maloba into its custody, where he is being held as he goes through immigration proceedings.
“Maloba is now in ICE custody pending removal,” the agency said.
His immigration history has become a key part of the case, with officials saying his legal stay in the US had ended several years before his arrest.
Eric Maloba
ICE has used Maloba’s arrest to highlight its wider immigration enforcement efforts under the Trump administration, particularly cases involving immigrants who are in the US unlawfully while holding commercial driving licences.
The agency said the case also pointed to the need for stronger cooperation between federal immigration authorities and state and local law enforcement agencies through the 287(g) programme.
ICE said it was seeking to strengthen immigration enforcement, increase arrests of people subject to removal and expand removals from the United States.
The agency also connected the case to increased scrutiny of commercial truck drivers and efforts to address immigration violations within the commercial driving industry.
Maloba remains in immigration custody as authorities proceed with the case and determine his legal status and whether he will be removed from the United States.
The 287(g) programme provides a framework through which participating state and local law enforcement agencies can work with ICE and carry out certain federal immigration enforcement responsibilities.
ICE said the partnerships are intended to help authorities identify and arrest immigrants who are subject to removal from the United States.