By Newsmata
As Nigeria awaits the arrival on Monday of the first batch of 85 deportees from the United States under the mass deportation operation of the Donald Trump administration, the Federal Government has appealed for a “dignified return” for the illegal immigrants.
The deportees, comprising mostly of convicted prisoners and others who committed immigration crimes, are to arrive through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, (MMIA) Lagos, while 116 others remain in detention.
A statement on Sunday by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, signed by her media aide, Magnus Eze, expressed concerns over the process of repatriation and called for a more humane approach, stating that “with about 201 Nigerians currently detained in US immigration centres and about 85 cleared for deportation,” the government was advocating for adherence to internationally prescribed guidelines.
She also reiterated the government’s stance in a post on her official X account on Monday, titled “US Deportations Begin”, with Lagos as sole deportation destination. The United States had also confirmed that deported Nigerians would be flown directly to Lagos.
Richard M. Mills, Nigeria’s Ambassador to Nigeria, emphasised that individuals serving prison sentences in the US would be among the first group of deportees.
According to Mills, “Those to be repatriated would be dropped in Lagos. There would not be room for whether it should be in Port Harcourt or Abuja.
“The first group will be convicted prisoners – those who committed crimes and are in US prisons. Some of them are those who have clearly violated US immigration laws. They appealed but were denied yet they are still in the US. They have committed immigration crimes, people who have been ordered to leave”.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu expressed concerns over the emotional and financial impact of deportations on Nigerians in the US and their families, emphasizing the need for humane and compliant processes.
She said, “With the new administration in the US, 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 US immigration camps, and about 85 have been cleared for deportation.
“Will there be any way of ameliorating their pains? This has been of great concern to not just Nigerian nationals in the US but family members in Nigeria who depend on them for survival, children whose school fees are paid for by these diasporans.
“We are asking as a country whether they will be given ample time to handle their assets or will they just be bundled into planes and repatriated? It will really be traumatic, especially for those who had not committed any violent crime”.
The deportation process comes as part of a broader immigration crackdown by the Donald Trump administration. On his first day in office as the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump signed several executive orders aimed at tightening immigration policies.
These include ending birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants and declaring a national emergency at the US-Mexico border.
He also announced the deployment of more troops to the southern border and reiterated his pledge to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.
These policy shifts, according to multiple media reports, have heightened concerns among immigrant communities.