A Ugandan refugee fatally shot by police in El Cajon, Calif., on Tuesday had twice been ordered by an immigration judge to be deported because of criminal convictions but was allowed to remain in the United States when Uganda refused to accept him, officials said Thursday.

Alfred Olango, 38, arrived in the United States as a refugee with his family in 1991, according to a statement released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

An immigration judge ordered him deported in 2002 after his conviction for transporting and selling drugs. An immigration judge renewed that order in 2009, when Olango left prison after serving a sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm, the Washington Post reports.

In both instances, Uganda refused to issue travel documents that would have permitted Olango to return to his homeland, according to a statement issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Olango and his family had fled Uganda for fear of becoming victims of political violence, according to court documents.

On Tuesday afternoon, two El Cajon officers confronted Olango in a strip mall parking lot after police received a call from his sister saying that he was acting erratically. According to police, Olango refused their commands and reached into his pocket for a metallic-looking object and then assumed a “shooting stance,” aiming the device at an officer.

That officer fired his service weapon, fatally striking Olango. The other officer fired a Taser to disable him.