The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) has expressed the Federal Government’s readiness to receive Nigerians who may be deported from the United States.
The Director of Media and Corporate Affairs at NiDCOM, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, shared in an interview with Vanguard on Tuesday that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would be overseeing such situations.
He also revealed that an inter-agency committee has already been established to handle any cases of deportation, involving key agencies such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NiDCOM, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, and the National Security Adviser’s office.
“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,” Balogun said.
However, Balogun clarified that NiDCOM had not received any official reports indicating that Nigerians in the US were currently being processed for deportation.
This follows reports that nearly 3,690 Nigerians in the US are at risk of deportation due to the stringent immigration policies enforced under U.S President Donald Trump.
According to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), these individuals are among the many facing removal orders.
In a report from ICE, it was disclosed that by November 2024, over 1.4 million non-citizens had received final removal orders.
The data, compiled by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), revealed that Mexico and El Salvador were among the countries with the highest number of individuals facing deportation.
As part of the larger effort to combat illegal immigration and ensure national security, ICE has been leading a crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
Last week, mass arrests were made, and some deported individuals were transported out of the country via military aircraft, signaling the commencement of a large-scale deportation operation promised by the previous administration.
