No fewer than 110 Nigerians are among 355 West Africans listed for deportation by the Donald Trump administration as Washington intensifies immigration enforcement under its expanded West Africa Operations Watch (WOW) initiative.
The list, released by the United States Department of Homeland Security and containing the names and photographs of all 355 individuals marked for removal, shows that Nigeria accounts for the highest number of affected nationals, followed by Liberia with 94, Ghana with 30, and Senegal with 19.
Other countries on the list include Cameroon (15), The Gambia (14), Côte d’Ivoire (14), Mauritania (12), Cape Verde (11), Burkina Faso (9), Niger (8), Guinea (6), Togo (6), Mali (5), and one each from Benin and Guinea-Bissau.
While specific offences linked to individuals on the current list were not disclosed, previous enforcement actions under the “Worst of the Worst” category have targeted individuals convicted of serious crimes, including fraud, money laundering, drug trafficking, and violent offences.
The 110 Nigerians represent the largest single national group in the operation, underscoring the scale of the crackdown on West African nationals alleged to have violated United States immigration laws.
Officials said the deportations form part of a broader effort to enforce visa regulations, address overstays, and target cases involving criminal convictions or fraudulent documentation.
The move comes amid a wider tightening of U.S. immigration policy under the Trump administration, which has repeatedly signalled a shift toward stricter border control and accelerated removal of undocumented migrants.
