Nigerian illegal immigrants in the United States have resorted to hiding and restricted movement to avoid being arrested and deported by the President Donald Trump-led government.
This comes as a document from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations showed that about 3690 Nigerians in the US face deportation.
The document, titled ‘Non-citizens on the ICE Non-Detained Docket with Final Orders of Removal by Country of Citizenship,’ shows that Mexico and El Salvador top the list of nations facing the highest number of deportations, with 252,044 and 203,822, respectively.
As revealed in the document, 1,445,549 non-citizens were on ICE’s non-detained docket with final removal orders as of November 24, 2024.
The development comes as the Trump-led administration swung into action with its anti-illegal immigrant’ policies upon his inauguration on January 20, 2025.
In a follow-up to Trump’s tough stance against illegal immigrants, the US Justice Department also threatened to prosecute local and state authorities that failed to comply with immigration directives.
Consequently, 538 illegal immigrants were deported from the United States on January 23.
Still, Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, disclosed on her official X handle that the largest deportation operation in history was underway.
Reacting, a Nigerian in Florida who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that many illegal immigrants have been leaving in fear since the emergence of Trump.
According to him, it is believed that African illegal immigrants may be next for Trump’s clampdown.
He noted that due to fear, many illegal immigrants of African descent, especially Nigerians, have stopped working in order to avoid being arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE agents.
“We have stopped going out, no more work and church. The situation is terrible as we live in fear. In spite of that, we believe the situation is better than the hardship and insecurity in Nigeria,” he stated in an interview on Friday.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s federal government has, however, said a total of 201 Nigerians are currently in the custody of the US authorities and are ready for deportation.
However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the date and time of their deportation had not been communicated to the Federal Government.
The acting spokesperson for the ministry, Kimiebi Ebienfa, stated that for Nigerians to be deported, the established diplomatic practice was to officially communicate such intentions to the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, DC.
“The total number of 201 Nigerians is currently in their custody for deportation, but the date and time for deportation have not been communicated.
“And there is no way they will be deported to Nigeria without communication with the embassy in Washington DC,” the official said.
