International
Trumps immigration policy: 5,144 Nigerians face arrest, deportation from US
No fewer than 5,144 Nigerians may be affected in the initial stage of the ongoing deportation exercises from the United States of America as President Donald Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants continues.
The figure includes non-US citizens of Nigeria origin in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, and Enforcement and Removal Operations, ERO, non-detained docket with final orders of removal from the US and those already in ICE detention.
Efforts made to reach the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the matter, at press time last night, proved abortive.
But the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, NiDCOM, said the Federal Government had already put in place an inter-agency committee to tackle the matter should there be mass deportation of Nigerians by Donald Trump’s government.
However, data shared by ICE showed that a total of 1,445,549 non-US citizens from different nationalities are on the non-detained docket with final orders of removal as at November 2024, with 3,690 being Nigerians.
Fresh data from ICE also indicated that an additional 1,454 are currently in detention and are billed for deportation to Nigeria.
According to the data, 772 of the 1,454 Nigerians in ICE custody were arrested and detained for criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, while the rest were arrested for other immigration violations, such as visa overstay.
It further showed that 417 were arrested and removed as at November 2024, while 884 were removed between 2019 and 2024.
The disclosure by ICE comes at a time the newly-inaugurated administration of President Trump is implementing an immigration policy aimed at ridding the United States of illegal immigrants.
Nearly 3,000 “criminal aliens” have been arrested in the first few days of the operation in the wake of the mass deportation.
Though the initial arrest and deportation were focussed on illegal immigrants with known criminal records, there is a growing concern that attention would soon shift to include other illegal immigrants, especially those in the non-detained list with orders for their removal from the states.
A “non-detained docket” refers to a list maintained by ICE that includes individuals they believe are removable non-citizens currently residing in the United States but are not held in ICE detention.
Essentially, they are people that are not currently in ICE custody but are still considered targets for potential deportation action.
Usually, ICE, with the power of final order of removal from an immigration court, will go ahead to deport a person on the non-detained docket, even though a person may be deported without a court order under the process of expedited removal.
International
FG hails Elias’ election to UN International Law Commission
Elias emerged successful in a competitive election conducted to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Kenya’s representative, Professor Phoebe Okowa. Candidates from Ghana and Botswana also contested the seat.
The Federal Government has hailed the election of Nigerian international legal expert, Taoheed Elias, into the United Nations International Law Commission during the commission’s 77th session held in Geneva.
Elias emerged successful in a competitive election conducted to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Kenya’s representative, Professor Phoebe Okowa. Candidates from Ghana and Botswana also contested the seat.
In a statement issued on Thursday by the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, the government described the election as a recognition of Nigeria’s contributions to the development of international law and multilateral diplomacy.
The government said Elias brings decades of experience in international legal affairs to the commission, having previously served as Registrar of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals with the rank of United Nations Assistant Secretary-General.
CNN’s founder Ted Turner / AFP
Ted Turner, the flamboyant US entrepreneur who transformed television news with the creation of CNN in 1980, has died at the age of 87, the network said Wednesday.
The mustached southerner, yachting enthusiast and philanthropist, whose empire also included sports clubs, had been suffering from the degenerative disease Lewy Body Dementia.
Cable News Network upended established broadcasting with its dedication to around-the-clock breaking news and shot to global recognition with its coverage of the Gulf War in 1990-91.
The 24-hour network was the first in the United States to run non-stop news and quickly built a worldwide footprint.
Correspondents brought live coverage from major events ranging from the collapse of the Soviet Union to the Chinese crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests.
CNN’s decision to keep reporters in Baghdad amid US bombing on the Iraqi capital cemented the network’s reputation as an indispensable source of breaking news.
International
Explosion at China fireworks factory kills 21 people
Authorities deployed nearly 500 personnel to conduct search and rescue operations and treat the injured, while robots were used to help find those trapped within the building.
A blast at a fireworks factory in China’s Hunan province has killed 21 people and left 61 wounded, according to state media.
The explosion at the Huasheng Fireworks plant happened at around 16:40 local time (08:40 GMT) on Monday, in the city of Liuyang, leading rescuers to evacuate everyone within a 3km (1.9mi) radius of the plant.
Authorities deployed nearly 500 personnel to conduct search and rescue operations and treat the injured, while robots were used to help find those trapped within the building.
Police, who are investigating the cause of the blast, have taken “control measures” against the person in charge of the fireworks company, Chinese state media reported.
Authorities said that two gunpowder warehouses within the factory area posed a high risk amid rescue efforts, state media reported.
Rescue teams had to evacuate everyone within a 3km (1.9mi) radius of the fireworks plant.
They also implemented measures like humidifying the area to “prevent secondary accidents during the rescue”.
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