The Trump administration’s controversial plan to deport thousands of undocumented migrants to African countries has met firm resistance from Nigeria, highlighting growing diplomatic tensions over U.S. immigration policies targeting the continent, according to Business Insider.
While the U.S. has considered sending undocumented migrants, including convicted criminals and those with unclear immigration status, to several African nations as part of President Trump’s expanded immigration enforcement, Nigeria has strongly opposed the proposal.
Although Nigeria was not originally listed among the countries expected to receive deportees, Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, confirmed that the U.S. approached Abuja with an informal proposal to deport undocumented Venezuelan migrants, some with criminal records, citing problems with their travel documents and transit history.
“We have more problems,” said Nigeria, making its position clear. Unlike Rwanda and South Sudan, which reportedly responded positively to early discussions, Nigeria refused to accept migrants who have no legal or national ties to the country.
Minister Tuggar revealed these details during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today program.
He explained that the U.S. proposed relocating Venezuelan migrants, including some recently released from U.S. prisons, to Nigeria based on travel documentation issues or administrative convenience.
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“You have to also bear in mind that the U.S. is mounting considerable pressure on African countries to accept Venezuelans to be deported from the U.S., some straight out of prisons,” Tuggar said.
He pushed back strongly against the Trump administration’s plan to relocate non-African nationals such as Venezuelans to Nigeria, citing the country’s many internal challenges.
Tuggar stressed that Nigeria is not in a position to take on such external migration issues at this time.
“It would be difficult for countries like Nigeria to accept Venezuelan prisoners into Nigeria. We have enough problems of our own; we cannot accept Venezuelan deportees to Nigeria. We already have 230 million people,” he said.
This rejection comes amid growing diplomatic friction between Washington and African countries as the U.S. tightens visa restrictions and enforcement measures that have disproportionately affected African travelers and students.
At the recent BRICS summit in Brazil, President Trump issued a veiled warning, threatening to impose an additional 10% tariff on any nation that opposes U.S. trade policy by siding with BRICS.
Tuggar, however, downplayed the tariff threat, saying it was more about Nigeria’s refusal to cooperate with the deportation plan than about BRICS alignment.
He also addressed new U.S. visa policies affecting Nigerian applicants, rejecting Washington’s claim that the changes were based on reciprocity.
According to Tuggar, Nigeria already enforces a 90-day visa policy similar to the U.S., with the main difference being Nigeria’s electronic visa system that speeds up processing.
“The claim of reciprocity is simply not accurate,” Tuggar said. “We are talking to the Americans. We are engaging them.
We are also explaining and reminding them that we issue them five-year multiple entry visas, the same way that they issue regular travelers five-year multiple entry visas,” he added.
Tuggar’s comments highlight the growing diplomatic pressure African nations face as the Trump administration tries to shift its immigration problems abroad.
For Nigeria, the message is clear: it will not accept non-citizen deportees, especially those without legitimate ties to the country.
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