LYNN — A Lynn mother is pleading for the release of her son, Emmanuel Kenga, who has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since September after attending a scheduled appointment at the agency’s Burlington facility.
Kenga, known as “Manny” to many, was detained on Sept. 10 during a routine check-in with ICE and has since been held for six months. He is currently being detained at Camp East Montana, an immigration detention facility in Texas.
His mother, Mireille Mukala Mbuyi, said she fears for her son’s health and safety while he remains in custody.
Kenga, the oldest of nine siblings and the father of two children, had a valid work permit through 2029 and no prior criminal record, Mbuyi said.
According to Mbuyi, conditions inside the detention facility have been concerning. She said there has recently been a measles outbreak at the facility, along with reported cases of tuberculosis and COVID-19 earlier this year.
Some days, she said, Kenga has told her he does not have enough food or access to drinking water. He has also recently complained of chest pain and headaches.
“I don’t know how human people can live like that, even in a prison; they have a right to be treated well,” she said. “My message is for our judges in Massachusetts — if they can do something for us — I beg the judge, the Congressman, the City Councilors, I beg. I beg like a mother who cries for her son. I want my son back. I want my son back. He’s not a criminal.”
Congressman Seth Moulton, who has been working on the case since September, signed onto a letter in February, along with Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, calling for the detention facility that Kenga is being held at to be shut down.
Mbuyi said she became worried when Kenga did not return home after his Sept. 10 “regular” appointment at the ICE office in Burlington. After attempting to call him several times without a response, she later learned he had been detained.
Kenga was initially taken to Buffalo, New York, before being transferred to a detention facility in El Paso, Texas, where he remains today.
His most recent immigration hearing was held on Feb. 22, Mbuyi said, but “nothing has changed,” and the case has not yet been resolved. Another hearing is scheduled for later this week.
Before his detention, Kenga worked as a food delivery driver and home health aide with the New Lynn Coalition, helping deliver meals and supplies to residents across the city.
Mbuyi said she has taken on the delivery work herself to continue supporting her son while he remains detained.
“Everybody in Lynn knows Manny because he was the only one who did that job. He was a volunteer, and that job is not an easy job,” she said. “I do it now in his name. I’m the one who does it [and] I do that to support my son.”
