Nigeria ranks third in Africa for U.S. deportations with over 400 removals,
…Over 800 Nigerians granted asylum in US over two years
Nigeria currently ranks third on the list of African countries with the highest number of deportations from the United States between 2020 and 2025, according to data from The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE.
This is even as data from the Executive Office for Immigration Review, EOIR, indicated that 897 Nigerians have secured asylum in the United States over the past two years.
A total of 437 Nigerian nationals were removed from the U.S. during this period, with many facing deportation due to criminal convictions or final orders issued by immigration judges.
ICE’s enforcement actions are authorized under Title 8 of the U.S. Code, which allows officers within the Enforcement and Removal Operations, ERO, division to remove non-citizens with final orders of removal.
The data highlighted the ongoing challenge faced by the U.S. in managing individuals with criminal backgrounds.
In 2024, of the 271,484 removals carried out, 32.7 percent (88,763 individuals) had criminal histories, including charges or convictions for offenses such as assault, sexual assault, weapons offences, and even homicide.
Other African countries ranked by the number of deportations from the U.S. between 2020 and 2025 are Senegal, 689; Mauritania, 481; Egypt, 387; Ghana, 276; Angola, 227; Cameroon, 66; Guinea, 162; Somalia,154; and Kenya, 131.
Meanwhile, a total of 897 Nigerians have secured asylum in the United States over the past two years, according to the latest case-completion data from the Executive Office for Immigration Review, EOIR.
The data revealed that in 2023, U.S. judges granted asylum to 514 Nigerians, while 383 were granted asylum in 2024, marking a 25 percent decrease between the two years.
During this period, 501 Nigerian asylum seekers were denied, with 265 rejections in 2024 and 236 in 2023.
The EOIR publishes this annual report through the U.S. Department of Justice’s “Asylum Decisions by Nationality” portal, which includes data on every country that has registered asylum cases.
In 2024, the number of Nigerians seeking asylum was the third highest among African nations, followed by Cameroonians with 527 and Ethiopians with 291.
Other African countries with notable numbers included Ghana, 238; Egypt, 203; Eritrea, 193; Uganda, 86; Senegal, 99; and Sudan, 42.
However, African nationals still represent a relatively small portion of the overall asylum applications in the U.S., which continue to be dominated by applicants from Latin America and Eurasia.
On a global scale, Russia recorded the highest number of asylum grants in 2024, with 3,605 approvals, a sharp increase attributed to draft evasion and dissidence related to the Ukraine conflict.
China followed with 2,998 grants, as more dissidents fled the communist regime, while Venezuela and Nicaragua recorded 2,656 and 2,000 grants, respectively.
U.S. immigration judges also granted asylum to large numbers from Central America: 1,684 Salvadorans; 1,624 Hondurans; 1,592 Guatemalans; 1,007 Cubans; and 751 Mexicans.
On the denial side, Mexico had the highest number of rejections with 3,910, followed by China, 903; El Salvador, 2,880; Ecuador, 2,774; and Peru, 2,424.
Asylum applications in the U.S. are governed by Section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Individuals in the U.S. can apply for asylum if they can prove a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. However, factors like criminal convictions, missed filing deadlines, and the issue of “firm resettlement” can jeopardize asylum claims.
The asylum process operates through two tracks: “affirmative” cases, which are submitted to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and “defensive” claims, which are made when individuals are already in removal proceedings.
Affirmative cases that are denied are rerouted to the EOIR’s immigration courts, where government attorneys can oppose release.
The post Nigeria ranks third in Africa for U.S. deportations with over 400 removals appeared first on Vanguard News.
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Nigeria currently ranks third on the list of African countries with the highest number of deportations from the United States between 2020 and 2025, according to data from The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE.
The post Nigeria ranks third in Africa for U.S. deportations with over 400 removals appeared first on Vanguard News.
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