Gambiaj.com – (WASHINGTON, United States) – Fourteen Gambian nationals (Pictures at bottom of the story) are among 374 West Africans named and photographed by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in an updated list of foreign nationals earmarked for deportation under a controversial initiative the agency has branded the “Worst of the Worst.”
The list, published on the official DHS website, spans 16 West African countries and forms part of a wider push by the department to publicly identify individuals it considers priority targets for removal from the United States.
For each person named, DHS has released both their name and photograph, though the agency has stopped short of disclosing individual case details for anyone on the list.
Nigeria tops the list by a wide margin, with 124 of its citizens named, more than a third of the entire total. Liberia follows with 94 individuals, while Ghana accounts for 32. Sierra Leone has 26 nationals listed, Cape Verde 23, and Senegal 19.
The Gambia’s 14 citizens (pictures below) place the country in the middle of the pack, matching Côte d’Ivoire’s figure. Other nations named include Mauritania (12), Burkina Faso (9), Niger (8), Guinea (6), Togo (6), Mali (5), Benin (1) and Guinea-Bissau (1).
According to DHS, the “Worst of the Worst” designation is typically reserved for individuals with criminal records, outstanding deportation orders, or other immigration violations that federal authorities regard as serious.
However, the department has not broken down how many of the Gambians named fall into each category, nor has it clarified whether any are currently in ICE custody or still at large within the United States.
A Growing Trend Under Scrutiny
The publication of names and photographs, rather than confining such information to law enforcement channels, has drawn criticism from immigration advocates in the US, who argue that the practice risks stigmatizing individuals before due process runs its course.
DHS has defended the approach as a transparency measure intended to inform the public and support voluntary compliance with removal orders.
For Gambian families with relatives in the diaspora, news of the list is likely to stir concern, particularly given the absence of specific details about who among the 14 Gambians named have exhausted their legal appeals and what protections, if any, remain available to them.
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