Are there 3.7 million illegal Nigerian immigrants in the US, as alleged?

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Elizabeth Ogunbamowo

Claim: An X user alleged that there are up to 3.7 million unauthorised immigrants of Nigerian origin living in the United States.

Verdict: False! The latest United States Homeland Security Statistics data does not support the figure claimed by the X user. Nigeria is not even included among the top 10 countries of origin for unauthorised immigrants.

Full Text

On Jan. 20, 2025, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States (US). Following this, Mr Trump issued a series of executive orders, including declaring illegal immigration a national emergency and tasking the military with border enforcement.

One of the executive orders sought to deny birthright citizenship to children of immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally or on temporary visas. This move has drawn attention from immigration advocacy groups.

As expected, some social media users have been spreading false information and misinterpreting some of Mr Donald’s orders.

DUBAWA observed that an X user, @Zaddy_Bruh, shared a purported list of countries alongside the alleged number of unauthorised immigrants from each country in the US, claiming they are likely to be deported by the new government.

He represented the list of countries using their flags, placing Nigeria at the top with a supposed 3.7 million illegal immigrants in the US. This was followed by Zimbabwe with 765,000, Ghana with 1.2 million, Mozambique with 123,000, and Mexico with a staggering 17 million.

The claim was also shared on Facebook, as seen here, here and here.

Given the issue’s sensitivity, DUBAWA fact-checked the claim to ascertain its veracity.

Verification

DUBAWA observed that the user did not provide a source for his claims and failed to respond when asked for the origin of the data he shared in the comment section of his post.

Population estimates from the United States Homeland Security Statistics showed that 11 million unauthorised immigrants lived in the US as of January 2022. The organisation released the data in April 2024.

The document described unauthorised immigrants as all foreign-born noncitizens who are not legal residents. It further noted that most unauthorised immigrants either entered the United States without inspection or were admitted temporarily and remained past the date they were required to depart.

Other persons under this category are those who are beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), forms of prosecutorial discretion, or those residing in the United States while awaiting removal proceedings in immigration court.

“Unauthorised immigrants applying for adjustment to LPR status under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) are considered part of the resident unauthorised population until they have been granted lawful permanent residence. Individuals who were paroled into the United States are considered unauthorised immigrants until they are admitted or otherwise acquire immigration status,” it added.

A breakdown of the unauthorised immigrant population by country of birth revealed that Mexico had the largest number of citizens residing illegally in the United States, followed by Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. The report further stated that Mexico’s population of 4.81 million people accounted for 44 per cent of the total unauthorised immigrant population in 2022.

Are there 3.7 million illegal Nigerian immigrants in the US, as alleged? — Table showing the unauthorised immigrant population estimate. Source: US Homeland Security Statistics

Based on the list, the estimated number of unauthorised immigrants in the US as of January 2022 is 11 million.

Interestingly, the data noted that about 2.6 million immigrants from “all other countries” were unauthorised immigrants. However, this does not provide insight into whether Nigeria is on the list or the exact number of people from the country.