U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has removed at least 2,330 Nigerian nationals between 2014 and early 2025, with deportation figures showing a significant decline from their peak during the Trump administration but 3,690 more Nigerians remaining under agency watch.
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has removed at least 2,330 Nigerian nationals from the country between 2014 and 2025, according to a review of the agency’s annual reports.
The data, compiled from ICE’s statistical reports from 2014 to 2016, the 2018 Enforcement and Removal Operations report, and the 2024 Annual Report’s appendix, shows a fluctuating trend in deportations over the decade. Removals fell by approximately 47.1 percent, from 261 in 2014 to 138 in 2024.
Nigerian removals peaked during Donald Trump’s first two full years in office, with 369 removals in 2018 and 286 in 2019. This increase was attributed to the Electronic Nationality Verification expansion program, which shortened the paperwork cycle for consular officers. An official said the program “cut manifest approval times from weeks to days and allowed weekend-chartered flights to countries such as Mauritania, Senegal, and Ghana.”
Following the COVID-19 pandemic and a shift in enforcement priorities under the Biden administration, removals saw a significant decline, plummeting to just 49 in 2022. However, the numbers rebounded to 152 in 2023 and stood at 138 in 2024. The data for 2025 is still being finalized, with 20 removals already recorded.
Globally, Nigeria had the largest total removals in Africa during this period, followed by Somalia and Ghana. The overall volume of removals was highest in the Americas, led by Mexico with over 900,000 removals. During a meeting in February 2025, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, urged the U.S. to ensure a humane deportation process for Nigerians.