The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) has said that the Federal Government is ready to welcome deported Nigerians from the United States.
The Director of Media and Corporate Affairs of the commission, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, in an interview with Vanguard on Tuesday evening, said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was in charge of such development.
Balogun further said FG had already constituted an inter-agency committee to handle the matter should Nigerians be expelled from the US.
“The Federal Government has set up an inter-agency committee, comprising the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NiDCOM, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), should there be mass deportation of Nigerians from the US.”
However, the NiDCOM spokesman stressed that its commission was not aware of Nigerians in America being processed for deportation.
News Band reported that over 3,690 Nigerians are on the verge of being expelled from the United States following the ongoing deportation exercise initiated President Donald Trump.
On Tuesday, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of the U.S, released a list of countries whose citizens will be sent packing.
Mexico and Nicaragua top the list of immigrants to be expelled.
ICE is charged with the responsibility of protecting America from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threaten national security.
Already, hundreds of migrants were arrested and others flown out of the country on military aircraft last Thursday, as Donald Trump’s promised mass deportation operation got underway.
Mr. Trump was sworn into office for his second term, promising during his inaugural speech in the Capitol Rotunda to deport immigrants “at a level nobody has ever seen before.”
His first hours in office included a series of executive actions aimed at restricting border crossings, shutting down asylum applications, booting out the leadership of the federal immigration court system and more.
Officials in the new administration outlined plans for an aggressive immigration crackdown in the days, weeks and months to come.
Though, it’s the fulfillment of a 2024 presidential campaign defined by nationalist rhetoric.
