US removes 2,310 Nigerians, 3,690 more under watch

The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement has removed at least 2,310 Nigerian nationals from the country between 2014 and 2024.

A review of the agency’s annual reports and appendices also revealed that 20 removals have been recorded so far in 2025, bringing the total since 2014 to 2,330, with 3,690 more remaining under watch.

The year-by-year figures are drawn from ICE’s 2014, 2015 and 2016 statistical reports, the 2018 Enforcement and Removal Operations report, and the 2024 Annual Report’s country-by-country appendix, which captures figures from 2019.

Across the 11 years, Sunday PUNCH notes that Nigerian removals fell by roughly 47.1%, from 261 in 2014 to 138 in 2024.

The trend has dwindled over the years, as ICE removed 261 Nigerians in 2014, 224 in 2015 and 242 in 2016.

The number rose in 2017 (312) and 2018 (369) before easing in 2019 (286) and 2020 (199).