Immigration officials in Alaska are working to deport a 12-year-old Anchorage boy, while his attorney tries to keep him in the U.S. by proving his father is a citizen.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s as immigration enforcement has ramped up during President Donald Trump\u2019s second term. Like other states, Alaska has seen a sharp increase in the number of people targeted for deportation. The boy in Anchorage and his mother are among dozens of people in Alaska facing an uncertain future.<\/p>\n
The boy\u2019s mother is originally from Nigeria and gave birth to him in Turkey before coming to Alaska and applying for asylum. The man the boy\u2019s attorney asserts is his father, 46-year-old Bolanle Meshach Akinleye, has so far avoided multiple court-ordered paternity tests.<\/p>\n
Despite other documentation indicating Akinleye is the boy\u2019s father, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials say the boy\u2019s attorney has not met the burden of proof to establish her client\u2019s citizenship.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the dad is refusing to take a DNA test, the government\u2019s saying, \u2018Well, we don’t think you’re really a U.S. citizen. We’re going to deport you,\u2019\u201d said Margaret Stock, the boy\u2019s attorney.<\/p>\n
And as the Supreme Court takes up a case that could upend decades of precedent<\/a> surrounding birthright citizenship, Stock said she worries people like her client could face similar hurdles.<\/p>\n Alaska Public Media is not identifying the boy or his mother, because the boy is a minor and his mother has a pending asylum case.<\/p>\n \u2018Always acted like a father\u2019<\/p>\n Akinleye is a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Nigeria and a U.S. Navy veteran. He currently works for the federal government, according to Stock. Akinleye met his son\u2019s mother while on active duty, Stock said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was visiting Africa, and he got into a long-term romantic relationship with her, where he got her pregnant,\u201d Stock said. \u201cHe promised to marry her and then apparently changed his mind.\u201d<\/p>\n The mother eventually got a visa to travel to Turkey, where she gave birth to her son in December 2013, according to documents Stock provided. She later came to the United States and settled in Anchorage, where she applied for asylum. Her case is still pending and could hinge on what happens with her son.<\/p>\n Property records and social media accounts associated with Akinleye indicate he lives in Washington D.C. Multiple efforts to contact Akinleye for this story have been unsuccessful.<\/p>\n In early February and March, Alaska Public Media called publicly listed phone numbers for Akinleye, leaving multiple messages, and sent several emails to addresses associated with Akinleye. An Alaska Public Media reporter also hand-delivered a letter to a Washington D.C. address listed on tax records as Akinleye\u2019s home.<\/p>\n Despite his parents not being together, Stock said her client and Akinleye have had a father-son relationship.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has met his father in person several times, and the father has always acted like a father and acknowledged paternity,\u201d Stock wrote in an email. \u201cThe father calls him on his birthday every year to wish him a happy birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n In school, Stock said, the boy is an A student. He likes math and science, runs track and field and plays soccer, she said.<\/p>\n In May 2024, before the Trump administration\u2019s immigration crackdown, Stock’s client applied for a certificate of citizenship.<\/p>\n \u201cThe child was born outside the country, and his mother is not a U.S. citizen,\u201d Stock said. \u201cBut his father is a U.S. citizen and a U.S. military veteran. And the father has sworn under oath that he’s the father.\u201d<\/p>\n By law, having a parent that\u2019s a U.S. citizen entitles the child to citizenship, Stock said. For more than 18 months, Stock and other attorneys for the boy submitted evidence to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to support her client\u2019s case, including Akinleye\u2019s naval records, a DNA test from Akinleye\u2019s brother that suggests the boy is related to the family, and the boy\u2019s Turkish and Nigerian birth records.<\/p>\n USCIS issued its decision in the boy\u2019s case late last year. His application for citizenship was denied. Shortly after, he was targeted for removal.<\/p>\n A deportation hearing is set for early next year.<\/p>\n \u2018Not clear and convincing\u2019<\/p>\n Stock\u2019s client\u2019s case is part of a large-scale ramp-up of immigration enforcement under the second Trump administration. The federal government has initiated removal proceedings for more than 675,000 people<\/a> since January 2025, according to the Department of Homeland Security.<\/p>\n