3,690 Nigerians Face Deportation From US

TUNJI BALOGUN/North America Correspondent

The United States government is set to deport 3,690 Nigerians who are considered to be residing in the country illegally.

The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said it has identified 3,690 Nigerians among the 1.4 million “illegal migrants” with deportation orders.

A document obtained by Fox News from ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and published on Tuesday showed that the immigrants have been on ICE’s non-detained docket with final orders of removal since 24 November 2024.

The non-detained docket includes people who have been ordered to leave the US or are in the process of being deported but are not being held by ICE.

According to a report by Fox News, there are more than 7 million people currently on this list, including those held in federal, state, or local jails but not directly in ICE custody.

Those held by ICE are placed on the detained docket.

With 3,690 individuals, Nigeria has the second-highest number of citizens slated for deportation in Africa, following Somalia, which has 4,090. Ghana has the third highest number.

Globally, the list is topped by nationals from Mexico with 252,044, Guatemala with 253,413, Honduras with 261,651, and El Salvador with 203,822.

Other countries on the list include China, with 37,908 individuals facing final removal orders, Haiti with 32,363, Iran with 2,618, Pakistan with 776, Uzbekistan with 975, and Venezuela with 22,749.

President Donald Trump has intensified his efforts to crack down on immigration, building on his campaign pledge to execute “the largest deportation in American history.”

Since his inauguration on 20 January, the Trump-led administration has overseen the arrest of over 3,500 undocumented immigrants across the United States, carried out by ICE.

Deportation flights have commenced, with US military aircraft transporting migrants to their home countries or other designated nations.

The move has been criticised by Democrats and rights groups in the US who accuse the government of violating due process and human rights in the deportations. Some of the foreign governments involved have also criticised the operation.

The Colombian government initially refused to accept some of its deported citizens after accusing the US of mistreating them and treating them like criminals. It accused the US government of placing them in handcuffs and conveying them in military aircraft. Colombia later reversed its decision after it was threatened with tariffs by President Trump.

According to estimates from the Pew Research Center, there are approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States, a country with a population of 341 million.

The ICE document noted that the “US Government believes every country is obligated to accept the return of its citizens and nationals who are ineligible to remain in the United States.”

It stated that a lack of cooperation from the foreign government delays and inhibits the removal process.

“The US Government requests foreign governments take appropriate steps to confirm the citizenship of noncitizens suspected to be their nationals, which include conducting interviews, issuing travel documents in a timely manner, and accepting the physical return of their nationals by scheduled commercial or charter flights consistent with ICE and/or foreign government removal guidelines.

“Lack of cooperation from countries in accepting the return of their nationals may lead to ICE classifying those countries as uncooperative or at-risk of non-compliance,” the document reads.