The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has deported 902 Nigerians since the start of fiscal year 2019, according to the agency’s 2024 Annual Report. In addition to those already removed, 3,690 Nigerians remain with pending removal orders, signaling an ongoing and intensifying enforcement campaign.
While removals of Nigerians decreased from 286 in 2019 to just 138 in 2024, representing a significant 51.7% drop over six years, the figures show a sharp rise during Donald Trump’s first two years in office, with deportations peaking in 2018 and 2019. Analysts warn that these numbers could spike again in 2025 due to a renewed crackdown on immigration violations.
Notably, Nigeria still leads the African deportation list, with Senegal in second place at 716 removals (410 in 2024), followed by Ghana with 582 deportations. The spike in removals from Mauritania, which rose from 58 in 2023 to 353 in 2024, has been attributed to the Electronic Nationality Verification (ENV) program, which has streamlined the identity verification process, reducing approval times and enabling weekend charter flights for deportations to countries like Mauritania, Senegal, and Ghana.
Across the globe, Mexico remains the highest-deported country, with 434,827 removals from fiscal 2019 to 2024, far surpassing other nations. Deportations from the Northern Triangle (Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador) have also remained consistently high, while countries like Colombia and Ecuador saw notable increases in removals in 2023.
According to ICE, deportations are carried out under the Immigration and Nationality Act, targeting foreign nationals for reasons such as unlawful entry, overstaying visas, fraud, certain criminal convictions, or national-security concerns. The agency’s actions reflect continued enforcement priorities set by previous administrations, with Trump’s 2017 Executive Order 13768 expanding ICE’s authority to include all individuals without lawful status.
