The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released the names and photographs of 124 Nigerian nationals facing deportation after being convicted of various criminal offences in the United States.
The individuals are included in a directory published by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as part of the agency’s enforcement efforts targeting non-citizens with criminal convictions and final orders of removal.
In a statement posted on its official website, the DHS said the list highlights individuals arrested by ICE during operations carried out across several states as part of its ongoing immigration enforcement programme.
“The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is highlighting the worst of the worst criminal aliens arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” the statement read. “Under DHS leadership, the hardworking men and women of DHS and ICE are carrying out mass deportations, starting with the worst of the worst, including the individuals listed here.”
According to the agency, all those named have received final removal orders following criminal convictions and the completion of applicable immigration proceedings.
The offences listed include wire fraud, mail fraud, identity theft, drug trafficking, illegal firearms possession, armed robbery, rape, manslaughter and other violent crimes.
Among the Nigerians named on the list are Sunday Adediora, Sunday Kunkushi, Mkpouto Etukudoh, Marcus Unigwe, Olaniyi Ojikutu, Boluwaji Akingunsoye, Ejike Asiegbunam, Emmanuel Mayegun Adeola and Bamidele Bolatiwa.
Although U.S. authorities did not disclose when the deportations would take place, they said the individuals are subject to removal under existing immigration laws.
The publication of the list comes as the United States intensifies efforts to deport non-citizens convicted of serious criminal offences. Recent immigration enforcement has increasingly focused on individuals with criminal records rather than those whose cases involve only immigration status violations.
The move is expected to require coordination between U.S. and Nigerian authorities regarding the reception and reintegration of those eventually deported.
Legal experts have continued to debate aspects of U.S. immigration enforcement, including due process protections available to affected individuals. However, the DHS maintains that those listed have exhausted the legal avenues available to challenge their removal orders.
The Nigerian government has not yet issued an official statement on the publication of the list or the planned deportations.