Former Indianapolis Colts linebacker and Kenyan national Daniel Adongo has been deported from the United States after an immigration judge ordered his removal over a visa overstay, in a case that highlights the Trump administration's intensified immigration enforcement.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said the 37-year-old was removed from the United States on June 20 from Chicago after a Department of Justice immigration judge issued a formal removal order on March 23. Authorities said Adongo had remained in the country illegally after his visa expired in 2016.
Adongo made history as the first Kenyan to play in the National Football League (NFL), transitioning from professional rugby in South Africa to American football.
He signed with the Indianapolis Colts in 2013 and appeared in five games across the 2014 and 2015 seasons, primarily on special teams, before being released by the franchise in 2015.
According to ICE, Adongo remained in the United States after his football career ended, leading to immigration proceedings that culminated in his deportation.
Federal authorities also cited his criminal history in Indiana, where he faced multiple arrests over nearly a decade. The charges included felony intimidation, battery and disorderly conduct.
In 2020, he was convicted of criminal mischief involving property damage and sentenced to 364 days in jail, according to federal prosecutors.
His release from the Colts in 2015 followed a police response to a domestic incident at a suburban Indianapolis residence where he lived with a woman. Police reports indicated officers responded after the woman sent a text message to a friend asking for help, although she later declined medical assistance and did not explain the message.
ICE said Adongo's most recent case fell under the Laken Riley Act, legislation signed into law by President Donald Trump in January 2025. The law requires immigration authorities to detain, without bond, undocumented migrants charged with certain criminal offences, accelerating removal proceedings in qualifying cases.
Commenting on the deportation, ICE Chicago Assistant Field Office Director Douglas Thompson said the agency remained committed to enforcing immigration laws regardless of an individual's public profile.
"This dangerous individual was clearly a threat to the community, which is now safer since he's been removed," Thompson said. "Those who violate immigration law are held equally accountable, including former professional athletes."
The Department of Homeland Security said Adongo's deportation comes amid a broader expansion of immigration enforcement under the Trump administration.
Officials reported that ICE arrests have risen sharply in recent months as authorities prioritize the removal of undocumented immigrants with criminal records, with Adongo's case becoming one of the latest high-profile examples linking a former professional athlete to the administration's stricter immigration policies.