Nigerian immigrants in the US are living in fear as ICE raids intensify under President Trump’s administration.
Many are abandoning jobs, hiding, or making plans to return to Nigeria due to heightened enforcement and policy changes.
Some Nigerians are turning to online businesses or hiding to avoid arrest.
Community leaders say fear and trauma are widespread, with some opting for voluntary departure.
Visa restrictions and policy shifts are adding to the pressure.
President Trump began a renewed push to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants shortly after his inauguration in January 2025.
The policy, which he has repeatedly defended, has drawn sharp criticism from civil rights groups and immigrant advocates, who accuse ICE of excessive force and inhumane treatment of detainees.
The enforcement actions have been accompanied by deadly incidents.
Official data showed that at least 32 people died in ICE custody in 2025, making it the deadliest year for immigration detention deaths in more than two decades.
In 2026 alone, the Guardian of the UK reported that no fewer than eight people have died during encounters involving ICE officers.
Recent fatal shootings in Minneapolis, Minnesota, have further heightened fear.
Public outrage followed the death of Renée Good, 37, who was shot by an ICE agent on January 7 during an enforcement operation.
Sources from different parts of the U.S. said the climate of fear has caused some Nigerians to abandon regular employment, while others are making discreet plans to return home.
A Nigerian woman reportedly broke down in tears as she described the panic and grief among immigrants, saying she was traumatised by the killing of Pretti, an intensive care nurse at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center.
According to her, ICE agents showed little regard for legal status during operations.
“It is very traumatising the way these (ICE) people are treating immigrants,” PUNCH quoted her as saying.
“President Trump, if you want the immigrants to leave America, tell us. Just come out and say, ‘All immigrants, we want you out, whether you are criminal or not.’”
She added: “These (ICE) people don’t even care. There are a lot of immigrants who are treated like animals, and these people will be telling them, ‘we are citizens’, but they don’t care.”
The woman, who asked to be identified as senior Immigrant, said that the fear of arrest had pushed many Nigerians into online trading and home-based work.
She cited the case of a shop assistant who stopped reporting to work in mid-December and another family that left factory jobs after ICE activity in their area.
“My girl, who was working with me in my shop, stopped coming in mid-December. The reason was that she was scared for her life because ICE came to my area,” she said.
