Following President Donald Trump’s tough position on border security, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has identified nearly two million individuals for deportation as part of a growing crackdown on illegal immigration.
According to a leaked document obtained by Fox News from ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), as of November 24, 2024, 1,445,549 non-citizens were listed on ICE’s non-detained document with final removal orders. This document reveals a comprehensive enforcement strategy to remove individuals who have overstayed visas or entered the country without legal permission.
Among the nearly two million people targeted for deportation, Nigeria ranks second African nation, with 3,690 individuals on the list. Somalia holds the top spot with 4,090, while Ghana follows closely behind with 3,228. However, Mexico bears the brunt of the deportation with 252,044 people listed for removal.
The US government is encouraging foreign nations to cooperate in the deportation process. The document notes that delays in the return of deported individuals are often caused by a lack of cooperation from their home countries.
“In many cases, lack of cooperation from foreign governments hinders the removal process,” it states.
To speed up the deportation process, the US is urging countries to verify nationality, issue necessary travel documents promptly, and ease deportations by accepting the return of their citizens on scheduled commercial or charter flights.
Failure to comply with these guidelines could result in ICE classifying these countries as “uncooperative” or “at risk of non-compliance”, further complicating future deportation.
This push to deport undocumented immigrants aligns with Trump’s pre-election promises, where he repeatedly targeted illegal immigrants, linking them to increased crime rates in the US In his second term, Trump wasted no time in taking action, declaring a national emergency at the US-Mexico border and ordering military deployment to reinforce border security.
The deportation campaign underlines the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to tighten immigration control, with aim to reshape the US immigration system according to its zero tolerance policy.