Nigeria TV Info reports: Nigeria’s rejection of a controversial U.S. proposal to host asylum seekers is a major reason behind the visa restrictions imposed by former President Donald Trump’s administration. According to TheCable, credible diplomatic sources confirmed that the U.S. had requested Nigeria to sign an agreement that would allow it to temporarily host asylum seekers whose applications are still being processed in the United States — a process that can take up to seven years. Nigeria declined, citing national interest.

It was also revealed that the U.S. has been pressuring several countries in Africa and Central America to accept migrants and asylum seekers while their cases drag through the American immigration system. This move by Washington was seen as an attempt to shift its migration burden to other nations.

Supporting the reports, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, stated that Nigeria is already grappling with its own internal challenges and will not allow itself to be used as a dumping ground for Venezuelan prisoners or any group of deportees being expelled from the U.S. as part of Trump’s crackdown on undocumented migrants.