Nigerian migrants not high on list of migrants receiving US welfare benefits

Nigerian migrants are not high on the list of migrants in the US who receive welfare benefits, data provided by President Donald Trump shows.

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This has, however, not deterred the American leader from seeking to significantly reduce the number of Nigerian migrants in the US.

Mr Trump on Sunday shared the data on his Truth Social network to highlight the high rate of immigrants receiving benefits from the US government.

The list of about 118 countries included countries from various parts of the globe, such as Armenia, Belarus, Bhutan, Yemen, Congo, and Guinea. Countries in Asia, Africa and Oceania dominated the top of the ranking.

Nigeria, however, ranked very low on the list. One in three Nigerian immigrants (about 33.3 per cent) receive US welfare benefit, placing the country outside the top tier and closer to the lower end of the ranking. The data showed Nigeria positioned around 93rd, below dozens of other countries. By contrast, countries at the top of the list recorded rates above 60 per cent, with some exceeding 70 per cent.

Bhutan, for instance, topped the list with about 81 per cent of its immigrants in the US receiving welfare support.

Yemen followed with 75.2 per cent of its immigrants receiving benefits. Somalia had 71.9 per cent, the Dominican Republic and Afghanistan both had 68.1 per cent. Congo had 66 per cent while Guinea had 65 per cent.

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On the chart, Nigeria directly follows Barbados, which had 33.9 per cent. Nigeria is followed by Macedonia and China. These countries had 33 per cent and 32 per cent, respectively.

Many of the countries in the chart have been placed under US travel bans or visa restrictions, particularly those ranked at the top. However, several others with similarly high welfare figures face no such restrictions. Countries like the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Guatemala, Bangladesh and Armenia appear high on the chart but are not under US travel bans.

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US travel restrictions for Nigerian migrants

Although Nigeria ranks low on the chart, migrants from the West African country face US travel restrictions. The restriction bars entry for Nigerians seeking to enter the US as green card holders, or on B‑1, B‑2, B‑1/B‑2, F, M, and J visas.

Countries like China, Barbados, Colombia, and the Bahamas, which have similar percentages as Nigeria, have no travel restrictions.

In placing travel restrictions on Nigerian migrants, the US government did not make reference to the chart shared by Mr Trump.

In a proclamation issued in December, the US cited the operations of radical Islamist groups and the persistent security crisis as part of the reasons for the travel restrictions on Nigeria.