ICE Deports Former NFL Player Daniel Adongo from U.S. over Criminal Convictions

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Chicago has been deported former Indianapolis Colts linebacker, Daniel Ogama Adongo, 37, who overstayed his visa nearly a decade ago.

Adongo was removed from the United States on June 20, following a final order of removal issued by a Department of Justice immigration judge on March 23, 2026. His visa expired in 2016, shortly after his NFL career ended in 2015.

Over the past nine years, Adongo was arrested multiple times by Indiana law enforcement for a series of offences, including felony intimidation, battery and disorderly conduct. In 2020, he was convicted of criminal mischief with damage and sentenced to 364 days in jail.

His most recent criminal charges fell under the Laken Riley Act, a federal statute signed into law by President Trump on Jan. 29, 2025, which mandates the detention without bond of illegal aliens charged with certain crimes. The legislation was introduced following the murder of Laken Riley by an illegal immigrant who had previously been cited for shoplifting on the University of Georgia campus.

Adongo, originally recruited as a rugby player, signed with the Indianapolis Colts and played two seasons with the team from 2013 to 2015 before his release. “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. No one is above the law.“

Nearly 70 percent of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S. To date, more than 3 million illegal aliens are out of the country and counting.