Panic grips US Nigerian community as even Trump’s voters not spared
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Nigerians and other African illegal immigrants in the United States are grappling with the reality of deportation as Donald Trump makes good his campaign boast to deport millions of undocumented folks, having done so with 1,300 Latinos within a week of his second term as President.
Trump on his first day in office on January 20 as the 47th US President signed a plethora of executive orders, some of them to tighten immigration policies, including the stoppage of birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants.
One order declares a national emergency at the Mexico-US southern border, deploying more troops to the area to deport “criminal aliens.”
The US Justice Department has threatened to prosecute local and state authorities that fail to comply with Trump’s directives and 1,300 illegal immigrants picked up from across the country were ferried out on Thursday with military aircraft.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced gleefully on X that “the largest massive deportation operation in history is well underway.”
This has created anxiety in the Nigerian community in the US as many of them fear deportation.
Some Nigerians told Sunday PUNCH that Trump 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 is on Mexicans and Haitians, while “The next will be Africans.”
A Nigerian media entrepreneur, Obi-West Utchaychukwu, corroborated Adegoke’s statement saying Nigerians are monitoring the situation but none has been arrested yet.
Nonetheless, Nigerians have become cautious about their movement around streets.
A source in New York who identified himself simply as Adebayo for security reasons disclosed that “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 [Immigration and Customs Enforcement].”
ICE agents have raided several establishments suspected of harbouring illegal immigrants and making arrests.
They raided a business in Newark in New Jersey on January 22, detaining an American military veteran, undocumented immigrants, and even Puerto Ricans who are legally US citizens.
“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,” a source in New Jersey said.
A Nigerian immigration lawyer in Maryland added: “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 which may begin to haunt them.
Those in the US with student visas and other schemes are also scared of deportation, the source reiterated.
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Trump’s voter in regret after mass deportation of her Latino family members
