President Donald Trump has claimed that about 33.3 per cent of Nigerian immigrant households in the United States receive some form of public assistance, placing Nigeria near the middle of a global ranking of welfare participation by immigrants.
The claim was made in a chart shared on Trump’s Truth Social platform, as his administration continues to link access to public benefits with stricter immigration policy and visa eligibility.
Okay News reports that the chart, titled “Immigrant Welfare Recipient Rates by Country of Origin,” covers immigrants from about 120 countries and territories, measuring household participation in food assistance, healthcare benefits, and other welfare programmes.
According to the chart, Nigeria’s 33.3 per cent welfare participation rate is significantly lower than figures recorded for several other immigrant groups but higher than some countries with the lowest reported rates.
Countries listed with the highest welfare participation among immigrant households include Bhutan (81.4 per cent), Yemen (75.2 per cent), Somalia (71.9 per cent), the Marshall Islands (71.4 per cent), as well as the Dominican Republic and Afghanistan (68.1 per cent each).
By contrast, immigrant households from Bermuda, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, South Korea, and Kenya were reported to have some of the lowest participation rates, ranging between 25 and 29 per cent, according to the chart shared by the US president.
The welfare data was released alongside a series of expanded travel bans and immigration restrictions, which the Trump administration has increasingly justified on security, economic, and public-benefit considerations.
In June 2025, the White House issued a presidential proclamation imposing full and partial travel bans on several countries, citing weak identity systems, security risks, and limited cooperation with US immigration authorities.
Throughout 2025, administration officials repeatedly argued that welfare usage should influence decisions on who is allowed to enter or remain in the United States, framing the issue as part of broader immigration reform.
As a follow-up, a public notice issued in late December 2025 extended the restrictions into 2026, expanding the list of affected countries to 39, with the measures taking effect from January 1, 2026.
Under the updated framework, Nigeria was placed under partial restrictions, affecting access to immigrant visas and several non-immigrant visa categories, including student (F), vocational (M), and exchange (J) visas.
While the administration maintains that the measures are designed to protect national interests and manage public resources, critics argue that welfare statistics alone do not fully reflect immigrants’ long-term economic contributions to the United States.
