US President Donald Trump has said that more than 33 percent of Nigerian immigrant households in the United States depend on public benefits, citing data he shared amid renewed debates on immigration and welfare dependency.
Trump posted the figures on his Truth Social platform on January 4, 2026, alongside a chart detailing welfare usage among immigrant households from various countries. According to the data, about 33.3 percent of Nigerian immigrant households receive some form of public assistance in the US.
The chart, titled “Immigrant Welfare Recipient Rates by Country of Origin,” covers approximately 114 countries and territories and outlines the proportion of immigrant households benefiting from government support such as food assistance, healthcare benefits, and other welfare programs.
Countries listed with the highest reported welfare dependency rates include Bhutan (81.4%), Yemen (75.2%), Somalia (71.9%), Marshall Islands (71.4%), Dominican Republic (68.1%), Afghanistan (68.1%), Congo (66.0%), Guinea (65.8%), Samoa (63.4%), and Cape Verde (63.1%).
At the other end of the spectrum, the countries with the lowest proportions of immigrant households receiving assistance were Bermuda (25.5%), Saudi Arabia (25.7%), Israel/Palestine (25.9%), Argentina (26.2%), South America – unspecified (26.7%), Korea (27.2%), Zambia (28.0%), Portugal (28.2%), Kenya (28.5%), and Kuwait (29.3%).
The welfare data comes as the Trump administration continues to tighten US immigration policy. In June 2025, Trump signed a presidential proclamation imposing full and partial travel bans on nationals of several countries classified as security risks, citing terrorism concerns, weak identity documentation systems, and poor cooperation with US immigration enforcement.
Those measures were expanded in late December 2025, when the White House announced an updated proclamation extending the restrictions into 2026 and increasing the list to 39 countries facing either full or partial bans effective January 1, 2026. Countries newly placed under full bans included Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria, while individuals traveling with Palestinian Authority documents were also barred. Nigeria was among the countries added to the partial restriction list, affecting access to immigrant visas and several non-immigrant categories such as student (F), vocational (M), and exchange (J) visas.
In addition to travel restrictions, the administration has rolled out stricter visa policies. In July 2025, the US revised visa terms for Nigerians, limiting most non-immigrant visas to single-entry permits valid for three months, replacing the previous system that allowed multiple-entry visas valid for up to five years.
These changes form part of a broader immigration crackdown. Reports indicate that the Trump administration revoked approximately 85,000 visas in 2025, reflecting expanded vetting procedures and tougher enforcement targeting foreign visitors and international students.