The United States (U.S.) is set to deport 110 Nigerians as part of a wider immigration enforcement exercise targeting 355 West African nationals under a new crackdown by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The DHS released the list on Tuesday under its West Africa Operations Watch (WOW) initiative, which contains the names and photographs of individuals marked for deportation.
Nigeria accounts for the highest number of affected citizens, with 110 nationals listed, ahead of other West African countries.
Liberia follows with 94 nationals, while Ghana has 30 people on the deportation list. Senegal accounts for 19 deportees.
Other countries affected include Cameroon with 15 nationals, The Gambia and Côte d’Ivoire with 14 each, Mauritania with 12, Cape Verde with 11, Burkina Faso with nine, Niger with eight, Guinea and Togo with six each, and Mali with five. Benin Republic and Guinea-Bissau have one citizen each on the list.
According to the DHS, the enforcement action is part of efforts to strengthen immigration control and address violations involving undocumented stay and other related offences.
The development is expected to affect deportation processes across West Africa, with Nigeria likely to receive the largest number of returnees.
Authorities have not yet announced specific timelines for the deportation exercise, but the measure forms part of broader immigration tightening policies being implemented by the U.S. government.
