No fewer than 110 Nigerians are among the 355 West Africans slated for deportation by the administration of US President Donald Trump as Washington steps up immigration enforcement through the expanded West Africa Operations Watch programme.
Account to Vanguard, a list published by the United States Department of Homeland Security, containing the names and photographs of all 355 persons marked for deportation, showed that Nigeria recorded the highest number of affected nationals.
Liberia followed with 94 citizens, while Ghana and Senegal accounted for 30 and 19 respectively.
Other countries listed include Cameroon with 15 nationals, The Gambia 14, Côte d’Ivoire 14, Mauritania 12, Cape Verde 11, Burkina Faso nine, Niger eight, Guinea six, Togo six, Mali five, while Benin and Guinea-Bissau recorded one person each.
Although the specific offences against those listed were not disclosed, previous operations under the “Worst of the Worst” category have targeted individuals convicted of serious crimes such as fraud, money laundering, drug trafficking, and violent offences.
The 110 Nigerians form the largest national group affected by the operation, highlighting the scale of the clampdown on West African nationals accused of violating United States immigration regulations.
Officials stated that the deportation exercise forms part of broader efforts to tackle visa overstays, criminal convictions, and the use of fraudulent travel documents.
The development comes amid a broader tightening of US immigration policies under the Trump administration, which has consistently pushed for stricter border enforcement and accelerated deportation procedures for undocumented migrants.
