A coalition of civil society organisations under the auspices of Human Rights Monitors (HRM) has called on African leaders to take decisive action in response to the United States’ mass deportation of African nationals.
Describing the actions of the US government as a violation of fundamental human rights and global legal norms, the coalition urged African governments to rally in defence of their citizens abroad, noting that the time has come for the continent to assert its voice on reparations and the protection of the African diaspora.
The HRM coalition includes the Grassroots Centre for Rights and Civic Orientation, 21st Century Empowerment for Youth and Women, Centre for Environmental Sustainability and Development Awareness (CESDA), Socio-Economic Research and Development Centre, and the Centre for Peace Advocacy and Sustainable Development (CESPAD).
Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, Executive Director of Grassroots Centre for Rights and Civic Orientation Armsfree Ajanaku, said the coalition has been observing the various human rights violations connected to the arbitrary deportations of immigrants from the United States.
Since January 20, 2025, Donald Trump’s administration in the United States has ramped up mass deportations as it cracks down on immigration.
Ajanaku lamented that in many cases, these sweeping deportations violate the fundamental human rights of immigrants, many of whom are Africans and peoples of African descent.
According to him, in the context of the immigration crackdown, there have been shocking scenes in which the homes of immigrants are raided, and their mass arrests effected.
He said: “We have seen families being torn apart as parents are forcefully removed and placed in detention facilities.
We have seen people fleeing war zones and political persecution being harassed for seeking refuge.
“We have equally seen families who were granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS), pending asylum applications, being detained and charged with illegal entry.
“There can be no mistake the fact that these actions dehumanise, criminalise, and cause real suffering to people, many of whom are fleeing human rights crises to seek safety. The human rights violations can equally be seen in situations where children watch their parents being taken away from their homes in handcuffs.
“These actions, from a country which prides itself as the bastion of democracy and human rights, violate the rights of asylum-seekers and migrants, while denying them the opportunity to ask for safety and security.
“In the process of implementing these mass deportations, acts such as arbitrary detention, separation of immigrants from their families, the disruption of hitherto harmonious communities, and the subjection of those affected to racial profiling combine to undermine their fundamental human rights as enshrined in international and municipal human rights instruments.
Quoting the American Civil Liberties Union, Ajanaku observed that the US Federal immigration enforcement policies, including border enforcement measures by Customs and Border Protection (CBP), have led to an increase in racial profiling, border killings, and denial of due process rights.
He said the cruel treatment subverts international human rights instruments, which explicitly uphold the universal notion that the ‘family’ is the fundamental unit of society.
The coalition disclosed that it has submitted a formal statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council during its 58th Session in Geneva, held between February 24 and April 4, 2025.
Ajanaku, however, reminded African governments of their duty to support their citizens abroad, especially as many of those being targeted are contributors to national development through remittances, saying that Nigerians in the US alone sent home $6 billion in 2020.
