No fewer than 5,144 Nigerians are at risk of deportation in the initial phase of the ongoing immigration crackdown by the United States under President Donald Trump’s administration.
The affected individuals include non-U.S. citizens of Nigerian origin listed in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) non-detained docket with final orders of removal, as well as those already in ICE detention.
Efforts to obtain a response from Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs were unsuccessful as of press time. However, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) confirmed to Vanguard that the Federal Government has established an inter-agency committee to address the situation should large-scale deportations occur.
According to ICE data, as of November 2024, a total of 1,445,549 non-U.S. citizens from various nationalities were on the non-detained docket with final orders of removal, including 3,690 Nigerians. An additional 1,454 Nigerians are currently in ICE detention awaiting deportation.
Of those in custody, 772 were arrested for criminal convictions or pending charges, while the rest face deportation for immigration violations such as visa overstays. ICE records also indicate that 417 Nigerians were deported as of November 2024, while 884 were removed between 2019 and 2024.
The crackdown follows the Trump administration’s renewed immigration policy aimed at expelling undocumented immigrants. Nearly 3,000 “criminal aliens” have been arrested in the early days of the operation.
While the initial phase of arrests and deportations targeted individuals with criminal records, concerns are growing that enforcement may soon extend to other undocumented immigrants, particularly those on the non-detained list with removal orders.
