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The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has confirmed the deportation of former Indianapolis Colts linebacker, Daniel Ogama Adongo to Kenya after a decade of illegal stay in the United States.
In a social media post on on Tuesday night, ICE said the 37-year-old Kenyan national was removed from Chicago on June 20, 2026, following a deportation order issued by a Department of Justice immigration judge on March 23.
According to ICE, Adongo illegally remained in the country after his visa authorization expired in 2016, a year after his NFL career ended in 2015.
The former rugby player joined the Colts in 2013 through the NFL’s International Player Pathway program and appeared in five games, mostly on special teams, before being released in 2015. He was the first Kenyan-born player in NFL history.
ICE said Adongo had multiple encounters with Indiana law enforcement over the past nine years, including arrests for felony intimidation with a deadly weapon, battery, and disorderly conduct.
He was convicted in 2020 of misdemeanor criminal mischief with damage and sentenced to 364 days in jail.
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Court records cited by ICE also reference a 2025 charge of battery resulting in bodily injury.
Officials said Adongo’s most recent charges made him subject to mandatory detention under the Laken Riley Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump on Jan. 29, 2025, which requires federal authorities to detain certain undocumented immigrants accused of designated offenses.
“This dangerous individual was clearly a threat to the community, which is now safer since he’s been removed,” said ICE Chicago Assistant Field Office Director Douglas Thompson.
“Those who violate immigration law are held equally accountable, including former professional athletes”.
ICE said nearly 70% of its arrests involve individuals charged or convicted of crimes in the U.S., and that more than 3 million people have been removed to date.
