A Nigerian illegal immigrant in Columbus, Ohio said he stopped going out of his house to work for the first week after Trump’s inauguration due to fear of being deported.
According to the young man, whose name is not yet identified, though Nigerians are not the primary targets of the mass deportation exercise, any foreign national staying in the US illegally can be arrested and deported by ICE operatives at any time.
“I cannot assume that Nigerians are not their target now and become exposed to them. No. The best self-defence 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.
On the other hand, Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said a total of 201 Nigerians are currently in the custody of the US authorities and are ready for deportation.
Kimiebi Ebienfa, the acting spokesperson for the ministry, 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 is 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 official said
