Fifteen Kenyans deported from the United States arrived safely at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Saturday morning, police have confirmed.

The group, which included a woman and 14 men, was flown in aboard an Omni Air chartered flight number N486AX that touched down at 7.49 am.

Police at the Kenya Airports Police Unit said, "They were cleared by Immigration Department officials and handed over to a Multi-agency team who later released them to proceed home."

Authorities said the deportees were removed for violating US immigration rules.

Their return comes amid a broader crackdown on undocumented immigrants by US authorities, as part of President Donald Trump’s promise to rid the country of illegal immigrants.

According to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a total of 1,282 Kenyans are among those listed for removal.

As of November 24, 2024, ICE said there were 1,445,549 non-citizens from across the world targeted for deportation.

The top countries with the highest number of people facing deportation include Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, and El Salvador, each with over 200,000 individuals on the list.

ICE defines removal as the compulsory and confirmed movement of an inadmissible or deportable noncitizen out of the United States.

Since Trump returned to office, ICE has stepped up efforts to detain and deport individuals accused of overstaying their visas or breaking US laws.

The agency described the deportations as part of its routine enforcement work aimed at removing those without legal status in the country.

President Trump had pledged to conduct mass deportations, use law enforcement and military support, and end birthright citizenship.

ICE said those being removed have either violated immigration laws or committed other offences.

The United States currently has an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in a population of 341 million, according to the Pew Research Center.

Kenya is among several African countries with nationals facing removal. Others include Ethiopia (1,713), Somalia (4,090), Nigeria (3,690), Uganda (393), Tanzania (301), Rwanda (338), Congo (795), Burundi (462), South Sudan (136), Zimbabwe (545), Zambia (174), Togo (427), Tunisia (160), Morocco (495), Djibouti (29) and Niger (642).

ICE said noncitizens may still seek legal protection from deportation, including applying for asylum, withholding of removal, or protection under the Convention Against Torture.