The United States Department of Homeland Security, DHS, has announced plans to deport at least 110 Nigerians as part of a broader immigration enforcement operation targeting nationals from several West African countries.
According to the department, the move forms part of a wider crackdown that will result in the deportation of 355 individuals from the sub-region.
Under its West Africa Operations Watch initiative, the DHS published the names and photographs of all 355 persons slated for deportation.
The list shows that Nigerians account for 110 of those affected, making the country the second highest on the list after Liberia, which has 94 nationals marked for deportation. Ghana and Senegal follow with 30 and 19 individuals respectively.
Also included in the deportation list are 15 citizens of Cameroon, 14 each from The Gambia and Côte d’Ivoire, 12 from Mauritania, 11 from Cape Verde, nine from Burkina Faso, eight from Niger, six each from Guinea and Togo, five from Mali, and one each from Benin Republic and Guinea-Bissau.
The DHS said those listed were identified for various immigration violations, including visa overstays, unlawful entry into the United States, and failure to comply with residency requirements.
Officials described the exercise as a coordinated enforcement operation carried out across multiple states in the US.
