Trump’s Crackdown: 3,690 Nigerians Risk Deportation From US
Under the intensifying immigration policies of the Trump administration, approximately 3,690 Nigerians in the United States are now at risk of deportation. The crackdown, which has focused on undocumented immigrants, has triggered widespread panic among Nigerian nationals who are living in the U.S. without proper documentation.
The Trump administration, which has made combating illegal immigration a top priority, has enacted a series of tougher immigration policies. These include an executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from various advocacy groups.
According to a recent report by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and its Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) unit, Nigeria ranks among the top African nations with the highest number of deportees. The report, titled “Noncitizens on the ICE Non-Detained Docket with Final Orders of Removal by Country of Citizenship,” revealed that, globally, Mexico and El Salvador had the highest numbers of deportees—252,044 and 203,822, respectively—while Somalia and Nigeria led in Africa, with 4,090 and 3,690 deportees, respectively. Ghana follows with 3,228 deportees.
The data from ICE further highlights the sheer scale of the deportation effort, with over 1.4 million non-citizens currently on the agency’s non-detained docket facing final orders of removal. Under U.S. immigration law, individuals who cannot prove continuous residence in the country for more than two years are at risk of immediate deportation.
Since President Trump’s return to office, there have been numerous raids and deportations, with ICE agents empowered to make daily arrests. Deportations are typically carried out via military aircraft, heightening the sense of urgency for many immigrants.
This aggressive approach to immigration enforcement has sparked significant opposition from human rights organizations. The Center for Law and Social Policy expressed concern that these policies could have far-reaching, negative consequences for immigrant families. “The impact of these deportations extends far beyond the individuals being removed,” the organization noted. “Families may avoid seeking medical care, disaster relief, or education services out of fear, and children could be traumatised by witnessing immigration raids and arrests.”
Religious leaders have also voiced their opposition to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics, urging the President to show more compassion towards vulnerable immigrant communities.
As ICE continues to enforce deportation orders, thousands of Nigerians face an uncertain future in the U.S., with many awaiting legal proceedings that could determine their fate. Some may be deported at any moment, while others with final removal orders live in constant fear of imminent removal.
