By Nkiruka Nnorom
No fewer than 110 Nigerians are among 355 West Africans listed for deportation by the the Donald Trump’s administration as Washington intensifies its immigration enforcement under the newly expanded West Africa Operations Watch, WOW, initiative.
The list released by the United States Department of Homeland Security, containing mames and photographs of all 355 individuals earmarked for removal, showed that Nigeria topped the country breakdown, follwed by Liberia with 94 nationals, while Ghana and Senegal have 30 and 19 respectively.
Other countries on the list include Cameroon 15, The Gambia 14, Côte d’Ivoire 14, Mauritania 12, Cape Verde 11, Burkina Faso nine, Niger eight, Guinea six, Togo six, Mali five, and one each from Benin and Guinea-Bissau.
While specific individual charges on the current manifest were not specified, historical targets under this enforcement bracket, which falls under the “Worst of the Worst,” include individuals convicted of severe fraud, money laundering, drug trafficking, or violent offenses.
The 110 Nigerians represent the largest single national cohort in the operation, underscoring the scale of the crackdown on West African nationals deemed to be in violation of United States immigration laws.
Officials said the deportations were part of a broader push to enforce visa overstays, criminal convictions, and fraudulent documentation.
The move comes amid a wider tightening of U.S. immigration policy under the Trump administration, which has repeatedly signaled a shift toward stricter border control and faster removal of undocumented migrants.
