Photo credit: Daily Post Nigeria

One of the things that the newly elected US president, Donald Trump, does not joke about is immigration laws, and he makes this clear to anyone who cares to listen. He was vocal and proactive about this in his first stint as US President, and it is no different this time around, as his hammer will be coming down on 1.4 million immigrants, 3690 of which are Nigerians.

In a document titled “Noncitizens on the ICE Non-Detained Docket with Final Orders of Removal by Country of Citizenship,” US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) listed in detail the nationalities of illegal immigrants who will be deported from the country.

The country with the highest number of illegal immigrants is the US’ neighbour, Mexico, with 252,044, followed by the Central American country Nicaragua, with 45,955. On the African front, Somalia leads with 4,090, followed by Nigeria with  3,690 and Ghana in third place with  3,228 illegal immigrants.

When will Nigerians and other Africans be deported?

Just eight days into Trump’s inauguration into office on January 20, the US immigration agency ICE has arrested about 3552 illegal immigrants, with many of them sent back to their home countries in US military planes.

While the focus in the past week has been on Latin American countries like Mexico, Guatemala, and Colombia, there are speculations that illegal immigrants of African origin will be next.

In any case, it is expected that the removal of illegal immigrants will be fast and thorough, as one of Trump’s campaign promises is to carry out the biggest deportation sweep in the history of the United States. The intensity of this crackdown is perhaps best seen in his decision to give federal agencies in the country the power to detain illegal immigrants.


News is boring, but we make it fun. Subscribe to The Big Daily to be the first to know the day’s biggest news. 

OUR MISSION

Zikoko amplifies African youth culture by curating and creating smart and joyful content for young Africans and the world.