A 12-year-old boy born to a Nigerian mother and an American military soldier is facing deportation in the United States after authorities questioned his citizenship.The case unfolding in Alaska has drawn attention because U.S. immigration officials are seeking DNA testing to confirm the boy’s connection to his father, a naturalized U.S. citizen who previously served in the military.
The boy’s lawyer said his father refused to take the test.The child lives in Anchorage and could be deported with his mother. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requested genetic proof of paternity.“The child can’t prove he’s a citizen, and now the government is trying to deport him,” Margaret Stock, an attorney with Cascadia Cross Border Law Group in Anchorage, Alaska, told Newsweek.They added: “He is not in detention yet. They did not come and grab him and put him in a detention center, but they put him in deportation proceedings. So, it is really important for him to prove his citizenship to prevent them from deporting him.”According to the legal team, the boy was born in Türkiye to his Nigerian mother while his father, Bolanle Mashash Akinleye, was serving in the US Army. The family later moved to the United States on a visitor visa.
The lawyer added that officials are continuing deportation proceedings despite strong supporting evidence, including photos and videos of birthday celebrations and other personal records that show the relationship between father and son.Furthermore, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the boy and his mother were in the country illegally and had not proven their claims to citizenship.The spokesperson also suggested voluntary self-deportation options, saying: “Parents can control their departure using the CBP Home app and retain the opportunity to return in the correct legal way.
US is offering illegal aliens $2,600 and a free self-deportation flight now. We encourage everyone here illegally to take advantage of this offer and retain the opportunity to return to the United States the correct legal way to live the American dream.
If not, you will be arrested and deported without the opportunity to return.The case comes as the U.S. Supreme Court reviews challenges to birthright citizenship and a 2025 executive order aimed at limiting it.
If the court upholds stricter rules, more cases like this may follow, where people may need DNA tests to prove their citizenship.The lawyer added: “So, if Trump succeeds in the US Supreme Court in overturning the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, we will see more cases like this. In fact, we will see hundreds of thousands of cases like this.”A hearing in the boy’s case is scheduled for January 2027, while his mother’s asylum application is still pending.
