An estimated 5,144 Nigerians may be affected in the initial stage of the ongoing deportation exercises from the United States of America as President Donald Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants continues.
The total of 5,144 individuals includes non-US citizens of Nigerian origin who have been issued final removal orders by US authorities.
This group comprises those currently in detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as well as those not in detention but tracked through the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) non-detained docket.
The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs has yet to comment on the matter.
Meanwhile, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) has said the Federal Government has emplaced an inter-agency committee on the matter in the event of mass deportation of Nigerians by Trump government.
However, data shared by ICE showed that a total of 1,445,549 non-US citizens from different nationalities are on the non-detained docket with final orders of removal as at November 2024, with 3,690 being Nigerians.
Fresh data from ICE also indicated that an additional 1,454 are currently in detention and are billed for deportation to Nigeria.
According to the data, 772 of the 1,454 Nigerians in ICE custody were arrested and detained for criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, while the rest were arrested for other immigration violations, such as visa overstay.
It further showed that 417 were arrested and removed as at November 2024, while 884 were removed between 2019 and 2024.
The disclosure by ICE comes at a time the newly-inaugurated administration of President Trump is implementing an immigration policy aimed at ridding the United States of illegal immigrants.
Nearly 3,000 “criminal aliens” have been arrested in the first few days of the operation in the wake of the mass deportation.
Though the initial arrest and deportation were focussed on illegal immigrants with known criminal records, there is a growing concern that attention would soon shift to include other illegal immigrants, especially those in the non-detained list with orders for their removal from the states.
A “non-detained docket” refers to a list maintained by ICE that includes individuals they believe are removable non-citizens currently residing in the United States but are not held in ICE detention.
Essentially, they are people that are not currently in ICE custody but are still considered targets for potential deportation action.
Usually, ICE, with the power of final order of removal from an immigration court, will go ahead to deport a person on the non-detained docket, even though a person may be deported without a court order under the process of expedited removal.
A final order of removal is usually issued against an immigrant who has violated immigration laws, has a criminal conviction or possesses an expired immigration status.
ICE said in the document that it is unable to provide a list of case-specific reasons it is unable to remove certain non-citizens on the non-detained docket with final orders.
“There are several reasons ICE is unable to effectuate removals. Under Title 8 of the U.S. Code, ICE may remove non-citizens from the United States who are subject to final orders of removal issued by an immigration judge or other lawful orders, including those processed under expedited removal who either have not claimed a fear of return or received a negative credible fear determination affirmed by an immigration judge.
“However, this does not guarantee every person seeking to remain in the United States will be able to do so.
“Non-citizens may pursue a form of relief or protection from removal, which may include asylum, withholding of removal, or protection under the Convention Against Torture. If a non-citizen is granted any form of relief from removal, ICE is unable to effectuate the removal.
“Additionally, ICE works to remove undocumented non-citizens from the United States once they are subject to final orders of removal in a timely manner.
“The U.S. government believes every country is obligated to accept the return of its citizens and nationals who are ineligible to remain in the United States. Lack of cooperation from the foreign government delays and, in many cases, inhibits the removal process,” ICE said.
Meanwhile, the ICE and ERO have also been mandated by President Trump to ramp-up arrest and removal actions to between 1,200and 1,500 daily.
Commenting on the removals, ICE Deputy Director and senior official performing the duties of the director, Patrick J. Lechleitner, said: “With the public release of this enforcement data, ICE is demonstrating its commitment to openness and transparency.
‘’We will continue to evaluate and enhance how the agency communicates measurable data to best inform how our officers and special agents perform their law enforcement missions in accordance with departmental and agency priorities.”
Following the directive given to Department of Justice, DOJ, law enforcement officials in the U.S. Marshals, Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons authority to investigate and apprehend illegal aliens, Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Benjamine Huffman, said: “Today’s action empowers law enforcement officials at the DOJ to help identify and apprehend aliens who have illegally come into our country.
“Mobilizing these law enforcement officials will help fulfill President Trump’s promise to the American people to carry out mass deportations.
“For decades, efforts to find and apprehend illegal aliens have not been given proper resources. This is a major step in fixing that problem.”
Contacted, NiDCOM, however, denied knowledge of Nigerians in America being processed for deportation.
The Director of Media and Corporate Affairs at the commission, Abdurahman Balogun, said though the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was in charge of such development, being a consular matter, the Federal Government had already set up an inter-agency committee to handle the matter should Nigerians be deported from the US.
“The Federal Government has set up an inter-agency committee, comprising the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NiDCOM, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and office of the National Security Adviser, NSA, should there be mass deportation of Nigerians from the US,” he said.
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