Anxiety Grips Undocumented Nigerians in United States, abandon work, staying indoors
*Limits movement to a few Grocery Stores, place online food order
*Conducts self-medication at home instead of visiting Public Hospitals
*Stops physical Church attendance, opts for Online-Service
*Increase searches for Work-at-home, Customer Service jobs
*”201 Nigerians are currently in the custody of the United States authorities and are ready for deportation”-Federal Government
*BY GEORGE ELIJAH OTUMU/AMERICA Senior Investigative Editor, Naija Standard Newspaper Inc USA
THERE IS FEAR, ANXIETY within the Nigerian community presently in the whole of the United States. This tension is more palpable among undocumented Nigerians who mostly entered the country unlawfully or arrive on a B1/B2 Visiting Visas and overstay their legality-there-by made themselves automatically out-of-status.
Many of these Nigerians abound in Blue States (Democratic-led States) where they believe there are multiple incentives provided like: Identification Cards, Driver License issuance, Food Stamps and employment opportunities. Many of these sets of Nigerians have limited their movement to a few Grocery Stores, reverts to place online food order, conducts self-medication at home instead of visiting Public Hospitals and increased searches for Work-at-home, Customer Service jobs.
But the second term of Donald John Trump as the 47th President of the United States, coupled with his newly signs Executive Orders have shown that it could take a matter of time before these undocumented immigrants may fall out of the law and be apprehended for deportation.
Amid growing concerns over U.S. immigration policies, many Nigerian illegal immigrants in the United States have revealed that they have drastically reduced their movements to avoid the threat of arrest and deportation.
These Nigerians have taken steps to minimize their public presence, with some even stopping work and avoiding places like churches and social gatherings, out of fear of being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Nigerian illegal immigrants in the United States have disclosed that they have restricted their movements to public places to avoid being arrested and deported.
This came as they expressed optimism that they would be protected against deportation by the many lawsuits filed against President Donald Trump over his immigration policies.
Some of the illegal immigrants reportedly said they had refrained from going to work, church, and public places since Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States as a sacrifice to continue staying in the country.
*Immigration Policies and Deportation Orders:
According to a document compiled by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Removal Operations, around 3,690 Nigerians in the U.S. are facing deportation. The document, titled Non-citizens on the ICE Non-Detained Docket with Final Orders of Removal by Country of Citizenship, lists Mexico and El Salvador as the countries with the highest numbers of deportations, with 252,044 and 203,822 cases, respectively. As of November 2024, a total of 1,445,549 non-citizens were on ICE’s non-detained docket with final removal orders.
On his inauguration day, Trump signed a series of executive orders aimed at toughening immigration policies, including the termination of birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants.
The United States Justice Department also threatened to prosecute local and state authorities that failed to comply with Trump’s immigration directives, which included a pledge to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.
Following the directive, 538 illegal immigrants were deported from the United States on January 23.
*We no longer go out – Nigerian immigrants:
Meanwhile, Trump’s Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, disclosed on her official X handle that the largest deportation operation in history was underway.
Naija Standard Newspaper gathered that the affected Nigerians had devised means to avoid being deported, expressing fear that their forced return to Nigeria might spell doom for them.
In separate interviews, the illegal immigrants, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being identified, stated that their difficult living conditions in the US were better than returning to Nigeria, citing reports of hardship and insecurity as their major concerns.
One of the affected Nigerians, who resides in Tampa, Florida, said he had stopped going to work to avoid being arrested by ICE operatives.
He said, “Ever since Trump came to power and acted on his threat of deportation, some of us have stopped going to work because ICE officers can raid workplaces to arrest illegal immigrants at any time.”
Aside from that, the distressed Nigerian said he had also stopped going to church and other public places, disclosing that the only safe place for him was his house.
“I work in a factory with many other Nigerians and Africans. Some other Africans who are also illegal immigrants have stopped going to work. The fear of Trump is the beginning of wisdom now.
“I don’t go to Church anymore because it is possible to be arrested there. For now, the only safe place is your house-stay indoors.”
However, he expressed optimism that the deportation exercise would be relaxed after some months.
“We survived Obama’s deportation actions; we will survive this one as well. We hope that the various lawsuits against the immigration policies will slow things down and eventually restrain Trump from carrying them out.”
Asked why he had yet to regularize his documents, he said all efforts to validate his stay in the U.S had been futile.
According to him, all the systems he tried to obtain valid residency papers didn’t work for him, lamenting that he had lost close to $30,000 in the process.
He said, “I left Nigeria for the US in 2013, and I have been trying to get my papers since then. I was scammed through marriage and other means. In this regularisation process, I have lost close to $30,000. At a point, I wanted to file for asylum, but I was advised against it because I had spent over three years without valid papers. I decided to take under-the-table jobs instead.”
Another Nigerian illegal immigrant in Columbus, Ohio said he stopped going to work for the first week after Trump’s inauguration due to fear of being deported.
According to him, though Nigerians are not the primary targets of the mass deportation exercise, any foreign national staying in the U.S illegally can be arrested and deported by ICE operatives at any time.
He explained that the first set of illegal immigrants being deported were those with criminal records, noting that the process of deporting others without criminal offences had also begun.
“I cannot assume that Nigerians are not their target now and become exposed to them. No. The best self-defense is to stay out of trouble, and the best way to avoid being deported is to stay out of sight of ICE officers.
“The truth is, Trump’s war on illegal immigrants has restricted our movements. People are mindful of where they go now. The situation is like a rat monitoring the presence of a cat before stepping out. Personally, I stopped going to work the first week Trump was inaugurated, and I have not been going to work regularly since. May we not be unfortunate.
“Going back to Nigeria is not an option-not when millions of Nigerians are trying to ‘japa’ because of hardship and insecurity. My difficult living conditions here are still better than what is considered ‘comfortable’ in Nigeria. However, we hope that this threat will subside in the next few months,” he said.
*201 Nigerians in custody for deportation:
The Federal Government has, however, said a total of 201 Nigerians are currently in the custody of the US authorities and are ready for deportation.
But the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the date and time of their deportation had not been communicated to the Federal Government.
The acting spokesperson for the ministry, Kimiebi Ebienfa, stated that for Nigerians to be deported, the established diplomatic practice was to officially communicate such intentions to the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, DC.
“The total number of 201 Nigerians are currently in their custody for deportation but the date and time for deportation have not been communicated. And there is no way they will be deported to Nigeria without communication with the embassy in Washington DC.
“The total number of 201 Nigerians are currently in their custody for deportation but the date and time for deportation have not been communicated. And there is no way they will be deported to Nigeria without communication with the embassy in Washington DC.
“Moreso, if Nigerians are to be deported, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nigerian Immigration Service, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission will all work together on how best to receive and reintegrate them into Nigerian society,” Ebienfa stated.
“For instance, special flights will require necessary permits from Nigeria and we have to equally verify that the deportees are all Nigerians.
“However, since no formal communication has been received regarding the deportation schedule, the Federal Government is monitoring the situation with keen interest, and the right thing will be done to give our citizens a sense of belonging.”
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