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Authored by Yilun Cheng (Columbus Dispatch) When Lansana Gottor filled out his information at a voter registration drive in 2016, the then-19-year-old high school senior had no idea that a simple form would lead to an immigration nightmare years later. Gottor, 26, a Columbus resident, has been a permanent U.S. resident since he first came here from Sierra Leone at age 15 to reunite with his mother, who has since become a U.S. citizen. In late 2020, however, Gotto was put in deportation proceedings after U.S. immigration authorities discovered that he cast a ballot in the 2016 primary election as a teenager. He said he did not know that green card holders are not eligible to vote. Gottor, who has no criminal record, is a “poster child” for the type of noncitizens who should receive favorable consideration under President Joe Biden’s immigration enforcement priorities, according to Emmanuel Olawale, a Westerville immigration and civil rights attorney representing him.
