Mohamed Fofana spent six months in federal detention after being detained at a routine immigration appointment. He finally returned home to Syracuse last week after his habeas corpus claim was approved.

“First of all, I’m happy. I’m happy to come back and see everybody,” Fofana said Thursday during a press conference.

Originally from Guinea, Fofana came to the United States on Feb. 28, 2024, to escape persecution in his home country.

“I came here to save my life. If I go back to my country, I don’t have anybody to support me. The government cannot support me because now our government is a military government,” Fofana said. “I’m scared to be in my country.”  

Fofana had attended regular immigration check-ins for over a year when he was detained in November. He was required to visit the office in downtown Syracuse every three months. After being detained, he was taken to the Batavia federal detention facility, but then shortly after was moved farther away.

“When we arrived in South Texas, they sent me to the GEO ICE processing center. I stayed there two months and then they moved me to LaSalle. I stayed there for 58 days, around two months, then they sent me back again to the same detention [facility] again,” Fofana said.

The GEO ICE processing center is in Pearsall, Texas, and is operated by the GEO Group, which provides support services on behalf of ICE, according to its website.

During his hearings, his lawyer, Kelsey Hatfield said she struggled to get in contact with Fofana because of these movements.  

“It was not easy for her and me too, and my family [couldn’t] contact me,” Fofana said.

Mark Spadafore, president of the Greater Syracuse Labor Council, said while he admires the advocacy work of the local unions, the companies employing people should also speak up.

“We have stepped up and put ourselves in the public eye. Employers need to start doing it because it can’t just be us saying this. They need to be stepping out and not be afraid of the Trump administration,” Spadafore said. “They need to step forward and say that this is wrong. This is costing us money and our workforce and our ability to be able to create a better community.”

Fofana’s family did not see him for that six-month period because of how far away he was being held, Fofana said. He said the conditions were difficult in the detention facility due to a lack of food options and the inability to move around.  

“I say, I’m Muslim. I don’t eat pork. They have three or four special food diets; they sent me to vegetable-only for the food. You can never go anywhere, for me, I just walk around because it’s a big room and then when I’m walking, I think, how can I live here?” Fofana said.

Fofana also celebrated in 23rd birthday in January while in detention, which he recalled was one of the days they called him to ask if he wanted to accept voluntary deportation to Guinea.

“On January 5, they called me again and said, ‘So now we ask you for a second time, do you want to stay or do you want to go back?” and I said, “I told you I don’t want to go back to my home country because I’m not safe.’ After that, the officer said, ‘Happy birthday to you,’” Fofana said.

He hadn’t realized what the date was until the officer wished him a happy birthday.

While in Guinea, he earned his degree in nursing and when he came to the U.S., he dreamt of being a nurse here and is currently working on getting the certification.

“My dream is, I want to be a nurse in America. I will do it one day, but I don’t know when,” Fofana said.