Cameroonian Arrested as Trump Uses Green Cards Against Immigrants

[ST. LOUIS, UNITED STATES, Jan 12, 2026] — The detention of a Cameroonian lawful permanent resident at a U.S. airport has ignited fresh concern among immigrant communities as President Donald Trump’s administration advances what it describes as the largest deportation operation in American history — one that increasingly ensnares even those with valid residency documents.

Lukong Tanya, also known as Leonel, 39, a mental health and substance abuse counselor, was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on December 21 at St. Louis Lambert International Airport after returning from a short trip to Mexico with his partner, Whitney Robinson. The couple had been celebrating their first anniversary together.

Instead of returning home, Tanya was taken into federal custody.

“We were coming back from celebrating our anniversary in Mexico,” Robinson told Newsweek. “It was horrible and devastating. We came back from a beautiful trip to celebrate our union, and ICE took him.”

A Green Card Holder, Not an Undocumented Migrant

Tanya’s case is notable not because he crossed the border unlawfully — but because he did not.

According to his family, he entered the United States nearly 20 years ago to attend college and later obtained lawful permanent resident status. He has since built a professional career as a counselor working in mental health and substance abuse services.

Yet none of that prevented his detention.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that Tanya remains in federal custody pending removal proceedings. A DHS spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, said his detention was linked to a prior criminal record, including arrests for battery and driving under the influence, as well as a conviction for attempted possession of drugs with intent to distribute.

“A green card is a privilege, not a right,” McLaughlin said. “Under our nation’s laws, our government has the authority to revoke a green card if our laws are broken and abused.”

This framing — lawful residency as a revocable privilege rather than a protected status — lies at the heart of growing anxiety among immigrant communities.

Airport as a Legal Trap

What alarms immigration advocates is not only the detention itself, but where and how it happened.

Tanya was stopped after landing, not during border crossing by land. Airports, under U.S. immigration law, function as enhanced enforcement zones, where returning residents can be subjected to secondary inspection and detained based on past convictions — even those that occurred years earlier.

In practice, this means that international travel has become a high-risk act for green card holders with any criminal history, regardless of how minor, old, or resolved the offense may be.

Robinson said officers questioned them upon arrival before deciding to detain Tanya. He was initially transferred to a local jail for about 48 hours, then moved into ICE custody and transferred to the Ste. Genevieve Detention Center in Missouri, where he remains listed in the agency’s detainee database.

Inside Detention: “Inhumane Conditions”

Robinson has raised serious concerns about conditions inside the Ste. Genevieve facility, describing an environment she says is unsanitary, overcrowded, and dangerous to health.

According to her account, Tanya reported cold temperatures, limited access to bathrooms, concerns about water quality, and difficulty receiving medical attention when he became ill.

“The toilet is connected to the drinking water,” Robinson said. “He thinks he’s getting sick from the water. There are maggots in certain areas, and some nurses denied him medical attention when he said he was ill.”

DHS disputes these claims. McLaughlin insisted that all county jails used by ICE meet federal detention standards.

“If county jails are good enough to hold U.S. citizens, then they are sure good enough to hold illegal aliens,” she said.

The statement, however, has done little to ease fears among families of detainees — particularly since Tanya is not undocumented.

Trump’s Deportation Machine Expands

Tanya’s detention comes amid a broader escalation in enforcement rhetoric and operations under President Trump, who has pledged to execute the largest deportation campaign in U.S. history.

While official messaging emphasizes undocumented immigrants, evidence on the ground increasingly shows that lawful residents, visa holders, and long-term immigrants are being swept into enforcement actions, particularly at ports of entry.

Legal experts note that under U.S. immigration law, certain criminal convictions — even non-violent or decades old — can trigger removal proceedings once an individual travels abroad and re-enters the country.

The airport, in effect, becomes the choke point.

A Warning to Cameroonians Abroad

Within Cameroonian diaspora circles, Tanya’s case is already being interpreted as a clear warning.

For Cameroonians living in the United States on green cards, the message is stark:

Do not assume your status protects you.
Do not assume old cases no longer matter.
Do not assume travel is safe.

Even minor past encounters with the law — including DUIs or low-level drug offenses — can be resurrected at airports and used as grounds for detention or removal.

Immigration lawyers routinely advise green card holders with any criminal history to seek legal counsel before traveling internationally. Tanya’s case illustrates what can happen when that warning is ignored or underestimated.

Family in Limbo, Legal Battle Ahead

For now, Tanya remains in custody as his family scrambles to mount a legal defense. A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to cover legal costs, reflecting a familiar pattern: detention first, justice later — if at all.

“The entire family is devastated and overwhelmed,” Robinson said. “It’s surreal to be separated from the person you love without knowing how long it will last or how it will end.”

Removal proceedings can take months, sometimes years. During that time, detainees remain incarcerated, often far from family, employment, and legal resources.

Bigger Than One Case

Lukong Tanya’s detention is not an isolated incident. It is a case study in how immigration enforcement priorities have shifted — from targeting undocumented entry to leveraging technical vulnerabilities within legal status itself.

For immigrant communities, particularly Africans who often believe green cards represent security, the lesson is sobering:

In today’s U.S. immigration climate, lawful presence does not equal safety.

And for Cameroonians watching from abroad or planning travel, the warning is unmistakable.

Cameroon Concord will continue to monitor this case and its implications for Cameroonians and other African immigrants in the United States.