U.S. House Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint, has introduced a bill to stop the deportation of Francis Anwana, a deaf and disabled Detroit immigrant from Nigeria.

Rep. Kildee introduced legislation Wednesday that would grant Anwana, 48, legal permanent resident status, commonly known as a green card. The bill is often known as a private bill for immigration relief; Congress can grant permanent residence to a foreign national.

This is the first such bill Rep. Kildee has introduced.

Anwana is deaf, can't speak and has cognitive disabilities that put him at a second-grade reading level. He has lived in the United States for more than 30 years, coming to the U.S. on a student visa to study at a school for the deaf. His visa expired as various school directors and caretakers moved away and lost track of his case.

A dozen years ago, he filed for asylum, but was denied.

Last week on Sept. 6, he was told he had to leave on Sept. 11, giving him just a few days to leave for a country he hasn't lived in since he was 13. ICE halted the departure, but said he still has to leave the U.S. voluntarily. In 2008, an immigration judge with the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review ordered Anwana to be removed from the U.S.

"Francis was brought here as a child and America is the only country he knows," said Rep. Kildee. "Despite being deaf, Francis continues to volunteer in the community and be an active member in his church. It would be wrong to deport Francis to Nigeria, where he has no family, means to communicate or ability to take care of himself."

Related stories:

Deaf Detroit man faces deportation to Nigeria

ICE: Deaf Detroit immigrant must leave US

Kildee added: "I will continue to fight on Francis’ behalf and I urge the Trump administration to use its discretion on this case to allow him to remain in the United States."

Tania Morris Diaz, an attorney with Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, which is representing Anwana, said: "We are extremely grateful that Rep. Kildee is supporting our client and we're hopeful all of Francis supporters will call their local representatives and voice their continued support as well. Francis' ability to garner so much positive attention in such a short amount of time truly speaks to how exceptional of an individual he is."

Anwana's case has drawn the support of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which represents 31 members of Congress, and groups that advocate for immigrant rights.

Anwana has a meeting scheduled with ICE on Sept. 21.

He came to the U.S. to study at the Lutheran School for the Deaf and later attended the Michigan School of the Deaf in Flint, where he lived for years before recently moving to Detroit. Rep. Kildee of Flint has been working on his case since 2015.

He helps clean the floors and mow the lawns at a church near where he lives in an adult foster care home on Detroit's west side. Advocates say he has trouble understanding the immigration issues facing him and would be disorientated if forced to go back to Nigeria.

It would be a virtual "death sentence" for him, said attorney Susan Reed of the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center.

Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com or 313-223-4792. Follow him on Twitter @nwarikoo