Nigerians and other African illegal immigrants in the United States may be the next target for deportation by the American government, Sunday PUNCH has gathered.
The fear of deportation has gripped many Nigerians who are illegally staying in the US, following President Donald Trump’s declaration of war against illegal immigration
Trump on his inauguration day as the 47th President of the US signed a series of executive orders aimed at hardening immigration policies, including the stoppage of citizenship by birth for children of illegal immigrants.
Trump has 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.”
The US Justice Department threatened to prosecute local and state authorities that fail to comply with Trump’s immigration directives, which include a pledge to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.
Following the directive, 538 illegal immigrants were deported from the United States on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Trump’s Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, disclosed on her official X handle that ‘the largest massive deportation operation in history is well underway.’
The development has created anxiety amongst the Nigerian communities in the US, as many of them feared deportation.
Some US-based Nigerians disclosed to Sunday PUNCH that the government would clamp down on Nigerian illegal immigrants after the deportation of Mexicans, Haitians, and Indians.
Trump’s staunch supporter and Nigerian-American, Jacob Adegoke, said the current focus was on Mexicans and Haitians, while “The next will be Africans.”
A Nigerian media entrepreneur, Obi-West Utchaychukwu, corroborated Adegoke’s statement saying Nigerians had been monitoring the situation but none had yet to be arrested.
Sunday PUNCH further learnt on Saturday that a lot of Nigerians had become cautious about their movement around the streets.
A source in New York who identified as Adebayo for security reasons said, “There’s a lot of apprehension in the Nigerian community right now.”
“While I haven’t personally witnessed any arrest, many undocumented Nigerian immigrants are deeply worried about the policies of the new government. My neighbour even called me yesterday, warning me to be cautious when going out, as there are reports of even people with valid papers being targeted by ICE.”
In carrying out Trump’s deportation order, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have raided several establishments suspected of harbouring illegal immigrants and making arrests.
Sunday PUNCH gathered that Immigration officials raided a business in Newark on Wednesday, detaining an American military veteran and multiple undocumented residents.
Confirming the incident, another source in New Jersey said, “The viral case of an American veteran being arrested alongside undocumented immigrants has only heightened the panic. However, the fact that some US states are challenging the executive orders is offering a bit of reassurance.”
Also, a Nigerian immigration lawyer in Maryland spoke with Sunday PUNCH, saying, “For example, in Newark, New Jersey, they went to a frozen food store to search for illegal immigrants.
“More Nigerians fall into that category. Again, people on student visas and similar kinds of visas hoping to transition into something more are also in this group.”
Among those who can fall victims are unlawful immigrants with criminal records. Their criminal records may begin to haunt them.
The source also revealed that those in the US with student visas and other schemes were also scared of deportation.
