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By Billal Rahman
Immigration Reporter
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A Colorado priest who has lived in the United States for more than two decades is facing imminent deportation to Uganda, as supporters and attorneys seek last-minute intervention to halt his removal.
The Reverend Edward Nalwamba, a Ugandan national, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Lakewood on September 18 and could be deported imminently, attorneys said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Newsweek in a statement that Nalwamba entered the U.S. on January 1, 2002, with a B2 tourist visa that allowed him to remain in the country for six months and overstayed his visa.
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The case comes amid an aggressive push by the Trump administration to expand immigration enforcement and increase deportations nationwide, with federal authorities prioritizing removals, including of some long-term residents with final orders of removal, under a hard-line mass deportation policy.
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Nalwamba, 78, has lived in the United States since 2002, when he arrived for a religious conference and later remained in the country after colleagues in Uganda warned him not to return because they feared for his safety, according to attorney Joy Athanasiou.
Athanasiou told Newsweek that Nalwamba retained an attorney while still in lawful status to file an asylum application, but the attorney allegedly failed to submit the paperwork. Nalwamba later filed an asylum application himself in 2003.
According to Athanasiou, procedural complications during immigration court proceedings later resulted in a removal order that was eventually reopened before his asylum claim was ultimately denied by an immigration judge and later by federal appeals courts.
Athanasiou says Nalwamba has recently experienced a respiratory illness involving severe coughing, chest pain, chills, dizziness and weakness, and she alleged that requests for medical treatment have gone unanswered.
"In the middle of this illness, the government wants to deport him to one of the most dangerous places on earth with an active Ebola outbreak," Athanasiou told Newsweek in a statement.
His attorneys have said he fears persecution if returned to Uganda because of his past opposition political activity and criticism of the Ugandan government.
The U.S. Department of State currently advises against travel to Uganda because of concerns including crime, health risks, terrorism and civil unrest, according to its travel advisory.
Nalwamba worked for about 15 years as a priest at the Resurrection Anglican Fellowship in Greenwood Village in Colorado and later provided care for people with developmental disabilities, according to Colorado Newsline.
"He has zero criminal history," Athanasiou told Newsweek, adding that Nalwamba complied with ICE supervision requirements for approximately 14 years before his detention in September 2025.
"He has been a beloved part of the community for nearly 25 years," Athanasiou said.
"He was granted voluntary departure by an Immigration Judge on March 2, 2007, and still refused to depart," a DHS spokesperson said. "On June 2, 2009, the Board Immigration Appeals dismissed his appeal and on April 8, 2010, following a dismissal of his appeal in the 10th Circuit, he was issued a final order of removal."
Athanasiou alleged that Nalwamba’s health has significantly deteriorated while in detention. She said he was previously healthy and active but is now wheelchair-bound following severe pneumonia earlier this year and substantial weight loss.
Members of his community have appealed to federal authorities to reconsider Nalwamba’s case, citing his declining health and long-standing ties to the community.
Karen and Steve Rider told CBS Colorado that Nalwamba lived with them while helping care for their 33-year-old son, who has severe cerebral palsy, and said they believe he is considered a dissident by the Ugandan government.
Jim and Pam Horner, with whom Nalwamba lived after his first arrest, told The Denver Post that he was an optimistic and deeply spiritual man who frequently sang religious songs.
Pam Horner said he had been hopeful late last year that he would be released by Christmas, but when Jim Horner visited again, he appeared ill and increasingly weak.
"It is just so disillusioning, as an American, that we would treat people this way (who have) the character of Edward," Jim Horner told the outlet. "Twenty-five years later, you’re going to show no grace, no mercy, no compassion?"
A federal judge denied a petition seeking his release, noting that immigration authorities had scheduled his removal in the near term, according to CBS Colorado.
His attorneys have filed motions seeking to halt the deportation and reopen his asylum case based on what they describe as worsening political conditions in Uganda and fears that Nalwamba could face imprisonment, torture or death if returned.
Senator John Hickenlooper, a Colorado Democrat, said in a Facebook post on June 28 that he visited Nalwamba at an Aurora detention facility and called on federal authorities to pause the deportation.
"Colorado Pastor Edward Nalwamba should be with his own congregation today. Instead, he's being detained at the Aurora ICE detention facility and faces deportation to Uganda where his safety is at risk," Hickenlooper wrote.
DHS said Nalwamba will remain in ICE custody pending his removal from the United States.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Robinson and Tony Phillips
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