Nigerian undocumented immigrants in the United States are currently concealing their whereabouts and limiting their mobility to evade arrest and subsequent deportation by the Donald Trump administration, according to a recent report.
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A document released by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Removal Operations agency indicated that approximately 3,690 Nigerians are unlawfully residing in the U.S. and are at risk of deportation.
One Nigerian residing in Florida, who spoke with Punch, noted that, because of their fear, many undocumented immigrants of African descent particularly Nigerians have ceased working to evade potential encounters with ICE agents.
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He elaborated on the extreme precautions he has taken to remain unnoticed.
“Ever since Trump came to power and acted on his threat of deportation, some of us have stopped going to work because ICE officers can raid workplaces to arrest illegal immigrants at any time,” he said.
He went on to describe how his social life had been deeply impacted: “I don’t go to church anymore because it is possible to be arrested there. For now, the only safe place is your house—stay indoors.”
In Tampa, the factory where he is employed hires numerous Nigerians and Africans, many of whom have also refrained from attending work due to their apprehension about deportation.
However, he conveyed a sense of hope that the deportation efforts might be eased after a few months.
“The fear of Trump is the beginning of wisdom now.”
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“We survived Obama’s deportation actions; we will survive this one as well. We hope that the various lawsuits against the immigration policies will slow things down and eventually restrain Trump from carrying them out.”
He said, “I left Nigeria for the US in 2013, and I have been trying to get my papers since then. I was scammed through marriage and other means. In this regularisation process, I have lost close to $30,000. At a point, I wanted to file for asylum, but I was advised against it because I had spent over three years without valid papers. I decided to take under-the-table jobs instead.”
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“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.
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“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.
