By Uche Onyeali
United States government is to deport 201 Nigerians amid President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal migrants.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, disclosed this when the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills, paid her a courtesy visit at the Tafawa Balewa House in Abuja.
According to Mills, those penciled down for repatriation would be dropped in Lagos, adding that “there would not be room for whether it should be in Port Harcourt or Abuja.”
The US ambassador said “the first group will be convicted prisoners. Those who committed crimes and are in US prisons.
“Some of them are those who have clearly violated US immigration laws. They appealed but were denied yet they are still in the US. They have committed immigration crime, people who have been ordered to leave.”
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the minister’s spokesman, Magnus Eze, both officials addressed concerns about the repatriation system, with Odumegwu-Ojukwu seeking a dignified deportation process for her compatriots.
“With the new administration in the US, we want a situation where there will be commitments. If there will be repatriation, we want dignified return.
“At the moment, we were told that about 201 Nigerian nationals are in US immigration camps and about 85 have been cleared for deportation.
“Will there be any way of ameliorating their pains? This has been of great concern to not just Nigerian nationals in the US, but family members in Nigeria who depend on them for survival, children whose school fees are paid for by these Diasporans.
“We are asking as a country whether they will be given ample time to handle their assets or will they just be bundled into planes and repatriated?
“It will really be traumatic, especially for those who had not committed any violent crime,” the minister said.
There has been uncertainty around the drop box process — a visa interview waiver that allows eligible individuals to obtain a visa without a face-to-face interview at the US embassy.
Some media outlets reported that the drop box visa processing option was no longer available for US visa applicants in Nigeria, while others reported otherwise.
Efforts to reach the US embassy for confirmation were not immediately successful.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu also urged the US to issue a statement clarifying its actual position on the drop box system to assuage the concerns of Nigerians.
She also asked that the US reconsider its stance if it is mulling a possible suspension of the policy.
In addition, Odumegwu-Ojukwu expressed worry about the status of USAID, inquiring if it was outrightly dismantled or merely suspended.
Addressing the minister’s concerns, the US ambassador said the drop box visa policy has not been suspended, but added that it is being reviewed, as it is expected whenever there is a change in administration.
Mills assured that the position of the new US government on USAID, drop box visa system and other areas would be known in due course.
