No fewer than 201 Nigerians are in the immigration camps set to be deported home from the United States (U.S.) in line with President Donald Trump’s immigration policy.
Eighty-five of them have been cleared for immediate eviction from the country
The US Ambassador to Nigeria, Nigeria Richard Mills Jr. disclosed this during a meeting with the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mrs Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, at her office in Abuja.
According to Richard Mills Jr., among the first batch of deportees are those serving jail terms in U.S. prisons.
The envoy said the deportees would be taken to Lagos but did not indicate when.
The U.S. President has been fulfilling his campaign promise to deport illegal immigrants. Trump has intensified efforts to deport undocumented immigrants, with citizens of Columbia, Mexico and India already affected. Nigerians are now among those slated for removal.
According to a statement by Mrs Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s media aide Magnus Eze, the envoy said: “Those to be repatriated would be dropped in Lagos. There wouldn’t be room for whether it should be in Port Harcourt or Abuja.
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“The first group will be convicted prisoners – those who committed crimes and are in U.S. prisons.Some of them are those who have clearly violated U.S. immigration laws. They appealed but were denied yet they are still in the U.S. They have committed immigration crime.”
The minister pleaded for dignified treatment for Nigerians to be deported.This is in view of the fact that many of those convicts being deported from the U.S. are manacled – with handcuffs on their hands and legs.
Mrs Odumegwu-Ojukwu insisted that the U.S. government must follow the laid down conventions on the deportation of persons in repatriating immigrants.
The minister urged the U.S. to find a way of ameliorating the trauma of those to be deported, including allowing them ample opportunity to retrieve their assets in America.
Mrs Odumegwu-Ojukwu bemoaned the emotional and financial pains that many Nigerians in the U.S. were already experiencing since the Trump Administration announced the plans.
She stated that the effect was far-reaching even to the hinterlands of Nigeria where for instance, several families, including children relied on remittances from the U.S. for their survival and education.
“With the new administration in the U.S., we want a situation where there will be commitments. If there will be repatriation, we want a dignified return.
“At the moment, we’re told that about 201 Nigerian nationals are in U.S. immigration camps and about 85 have been cleared for deportation,” she explained.#trump
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