An eyewitness to a murder who fled Barbados because he feared his life was under threat, is now fighting deportation in the United States.

Andre Browne, who left his native Barbados in 2001 after giving evidence against four men who were charged in connection with the beating death of a 22-year old man, has been behind bars for the past three months at New Jersey’s Bergen County Jail, where immigrants facing deportation are held.

Browne was detained by immigration officials when he went for a routine check-in and has become trapped in President Donald Trump’s new immigration policy, which has resulted in the deportation of thousands.

Browne’s wife of two years, Axum Browne, has started an online petition to save him from deportation.