US Finalizes Move to Deport 79 Nigerians as Trump’s Global Crackdown Hits Home

The “honeymoon phase” for Nigerians living illegally in the United States has officially ended. In a sharp escalation of the Trump administration’s 2026 immigration policy, the US government has identified 79 Nigerians for immediate deportation, labeling them as high-priority “criminal aliens.”

This latest move is part of a broader, aggressive sweep by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) aimed at clearing out non-citizens who have been convicted of crimes on American soil. According to US officials, the 79 individuals on this list are not just random undocumented immigrants; they are described as “the worst of the worst,” with records involving everything from high-level wire fraud to violent felonies and narcotics trade.

The crackdown isn’t limited to Nigeria. Sources within the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed that 18 Ghanaians are also bundled into this specific removal wave, signaling a wider regional focus on West African nationals with criminal backgrounds.

“We are delivering on our promise to secure the nation’s interior,” a DHS spokesperson stated earlier this week, noting that the administration has hired thousands of new agents specifically to speed up the removal process.

For the Nigerian government, this poses a diplomatic and economic headache. While the 79 on the “criminal list” are the immediate targets, they are just the tip of the iceberg. Current ICE data suggests that over 3,600 Nigerians in the US are currently facing final deportation orders.

In Nigeria, the news has sparked a mix of concern and debate. While some argue that criminals should face the consequences of their actions, economists are sounding the alarm. Nigeria relies heavily on the billions of dollars sent home by citizens in the US. If the “deportation machine” continues to pick up speed, the flow of dollars that sustains millions of households back home could be significantly throttled.

As the first batch of 79 prepares for the long flight back to Lagos and Abuja, many in the diaspora are now living in fear that the “criminal list” is just the beginning of a much larger exit plan.