No fewer than 1,372 Nigerians have been granted asylum in the United States over the past three years, according to new figures released by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).
The data showed that U.S. immigration judges approved 475 Nigerian asylum claims in 2022, 514 in 2023, and 383 in 2024. This indicates a 25 per cent decline between 2023 and 2024 alone.
Among those granted protection was 12-year-old chess prodigy, Tani Adewumi, whose family fled threats from Boko Haram and secured asylum in New York in late 2022. In 2024, LGBTQ rights advocate and writer, Edafe Okporo, also won his case after recounting violent threats he faced in Nigeria.
Despite the approvals, the report also revealed that at least 1,534 Nigerian asylum claims were denied within the same period — 603 in 2022, 666 in 2023, and 265 in 2024 — marking a 56 per cent drop in rejection rate from 2022 to 2024.
Additionally, there were 68 abandoned applications and 552 cases classified as “not adjudicated” in 2022. Other procedural closures were recorded in 2023 and 2024.
While Nigeria topped African asylum cases in the U.S. in 2022 and 2023, Cameroonian nationals surpassed Nigerians in 2024 with 527 applications, followed by 383 Nigerians and 291 Ethiopians. Other African countries with notable figures include Ghana (238), Egypt (203), and Eritrea (193).
Globally, Russians received the highest number of asylum grants in 2024, with 3,605 approvals linked to draft evasion and political dissent stemming from the Ukraine war. China followed with 2,998 cases, then Venezuela (2,656) and Nicaragua (2,000).
On the flip side, Mexico topped the list of asylum denials with 3,910 rejections in 2024, ahead of El Salvador (2,880), Ecuador (2,774), and Peru (2,424).
Under U.S. law, individuals physically present in the country may seek asylum if they can prove a “well-founded fear” of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political views, or membership of a particular social group.
However, legal hurdles such as prior convictions, missed filing deadlines, and “firm resettlement” in third countries could disqualify applicants.
The EOIR report explains that asylum applications in the U.S. operate on two tracks: “affirmative” claims handled by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and “defensive” claims raised by individuals already facing deportation. The outcome often depends on credible testimony, supporting documents, and legal representation.
During his first term, former President Donald Trump introduced strict policies like the Migrant Protection Protocols (Remain in Mexico) and a third-country transit ban, which limited asylum eligibility. Although the Biden administration rolled back some of those rules, it introduced new measures requiring applicants to use the CBP One app or show they sought refuge in a transit country — a policy many critics say resembles Trump-era strategies.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported 902 Nigerians between 2019 and 2024, the agency’s latest report confirms.
