By ZACH LAIRD, InDepthNH.org
DOVER, NH — Steven Tendo, a Ugandan pastor and asylum-seeker who was detained by federal immigration agents in Vermont on Wednesday, is now being held at the Strafford County Department of Corrections in Dover, NH, according to an online detainee tracker from ICE.
Tendo is a licensed nursing assistant at the University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMMC), as well as the president and executive director of Eternal Life Organization International Ministries in Kampala, Uganda. He also works at a long-term health care facility in Burlington, Vermont.
Jacob Berkowitz, president of the UVMMC Support Staff United, said Tendo has been in the U.S. since 2018 and has worked at the hospital since 2022. He said Tendo sought asylum from Uganda after being tortured by the government and had family members who were killed over their political beliefs.
Berkowitz said Tendo was not on hospital property when he was detained, confirming that the incident occurred at Tendo’s other place of employment in Burlington. Berkowitz said the hospital has been in contact with state legislators to support Tendo and his family and help bring him home.
“We are devastated to learn, along with the rest of the UVM Health community, about the detention of Pastor and LNA Steven Tendo,” according to a statement released by the medical center. “This is tragic news for Steven and his family. It’s also an example of how the current actions of ICE are causing real harm in our communities and our health care system. We stand with Steven’s family, colleagues and friends in calling for his immediate release and return home.”
Tendo is a member of the Vermont AFL-CIO, which released a statement that he had complied with all required immigration check-ins over the years and had another ICE appointment scheduled this week.
“An attack on one of our members is an attack on all of us,” the statement read. “The Vermont AFL-CIO represents 17,000 workers who believe that no one should be torn from their job, their union siblings, or their community for political gain or intimidation.
“We urge the federal government to immediately release Steven Tendo and allow him to continue living and working in Vermont. We also call on workers, unions and community members to stand together in support of Steven and against the targeting of immigrant workers who are simply doing their jobs and contributing to our state.”
The Boston Field office for ICE, which covers Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, could not be reached for comment or clarification as to why Tendo was detained.
As a show of support for Tendo, a GoFundMe page was created Wednesday by Alison Nihart of Burlington to raise money for legal bills and lost wages. More than 100 donors have generated over $8,300 Thursday evening. https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-steven-tendos-legal-fight.