In compliance with President Donald Trump administration’s crack down on illegal immigration, the US government has identified 3,690 Nigerians residing in the country illegally who are to be deported.
The Nigerians living illegally in the U.S were identified by the U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The Nigerians will be sent back home by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s and Removal Operations (ERO) officers who have been saddled with the task of preserving national security and public safety.
The Nigerians to be deported are included in the “Noncitizens on the ICE Non-Detained Docket with Final Orders of Removal by Country of Citizenship”.
President Trump had on his inauguration day as the 47th President of the US, signed a series of executive orders aimed at reforming immigration policies, including the stoppage of citizenship by birth for children of illegal immigrants.
He has also signed orders to declare a national emergency at the Mexico-US southern border, stating the deployment of more troops to the area as he threatened to deport “criminal aliens.”
Reports indicated that as of November 24, 2024, there are 1,445,549 non-citizens on ICE’s non-detained docket with final removal orders.
According to a 2024 Migration Policy Institute (MPI) report, nearly 46.2 million illegal immigrants live in the U.S.
The latest data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed that Mexicans accounted for 4.81 million in 2022, representing the largest unauthorised immigrant group.
The next largest illegal immigrant populations are from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.
Others on the top 10 list included the Philippines, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, India, and China.
As of 2023, data from the United States Census Bureau showed that the population of Nigerians in the country is 604,077.
As part of deportation process, a foreign national may be held in a detention centre by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) before trial or deportation.
After a non-citizen is detained, they may appear before a judge in immigration court during the deportation process.
In the document titled “Noncitizens on the ICE Non-Detained Docket with Final Orders of Removal by Country of Citizenship”, Mexico and Nicaragua top the list of nations facing the most deportation, with 252,044 and 45,955, respectively.
