The United States deported a total of 1,359 Nigerians from 2003 to date. Nigeria's Consul-General in New York, Malam Ibrahim Auwalu, who disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York, said that, "the Nigerians were sent home for various immigration violations and criminal convictions".

Auwalu also said that some of them were repatriated for drug-related offences, while some others had either completed their prison terms or had allegedly committed credit card fraud and theft.

He said that the deportations were at the expense of the US government, which conveyed the deportees in chartered flights to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, in Lagos.

The consul-general, however, disclosed that some Nigerians were also, on a daily basis, sent back home from various US airports for not possessing valid travel documents or could not give tangible reason for their stay in the US.

NAN recalls that last year, the US Department of Homeland Security said it deported about 200,000 immigrants, who had served various terms in US prisons.

It said that the deportations were aimed at reducing costs for US federal, state and county prisons.

The department recalled that in 2006, a total 64,000 immigrants were affected by the deportation order.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International said that the number of immigrants held in US detention had tripled from 10,000 in 1996 to more than 30,000 in 2008.

It said in a statement that, "undocumented immigrants are among the detainees, as well as lawful permanent residents, asylum seekers and survivors of torture and human trafficking".