…arrival point is Lagos
The United States envoy to Nigeria, Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills Jr. has said first set of deportees from US will be convicted Nigerians.
He also revealed that Nigerian deportees would be dropped in Lagos.
Mills Jr. also explained that convicted prisoners would be among the first set of Nigerian deportees.
He spoke during an audience with Nigeria Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu.
The envoy said: “Those to be repatriated would be dropped in Lagos.
There wouldn’t be room for whether it should be in Port Harcourt or Abuja.
“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.”
He also spoke on AGOA which ends September this year but noted that it is left for the parliamentary group to push for its renewal.
I think this administration will concentrate more on trade and commerce. This relationship is strong and we want it sustained,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Odumegwu-Ojukwu has called on the US government to follow laid down conventions on deportation of persons in repatriating immigrants in their country.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu stressed that Nigerians in the US deserved dignified repatriation.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu asked the US Government to find a way of ameliorating the trauma of those to be deported including allowing them ample opportunity to retrieve their assets in America.
Nigeria also expressed concerns over the likely suspension of the Drop Box Visa System of the US Government.
Amb.Odumegwu-Ojukwu bemoaned the emotional and financial pains that many Nigerians in the United States were already experiencing since the new administration of the country indicated its resolve to repatriate some categories of people from the US.
She explained that the effect was far-reaching even to the hinterlands of Nigeria where for instance, several families including children relied on remittances from the US for their survival and education.
“With the new administration in the US, we want a situation where there will be commitments. If there will be repatriation, we want a dignified return.
“At the moment, we’re 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,” Amb. Odumegwu-Ojukwu said.
The minister also urged Washington DC to reconsider its possible suspension of the Drop Box Visa Policy such that Nigerians who had been travelling to the US for genuine reasons would not have to suffer unduly in procuring US Visa.