Several undocumented Nigerians and other Africans living in the United Kingdom have been forced to sleep in waste bins and on the streets to avoid deportation, according to migrants and social media reports.
The situation follows the UK government’s 2025 immigration overhaul, known as the “Plan for Change,” which led to the deportation of undocumented migrants and those with failed asylum claims. In mid-2025, the Home Office announced that 43 asylum seekers and foreign national offenders were returned to Nigeria and Ghana. “Those removed had no right to be in the UK, including 15 failed asylum seekers and 11 foreign national offenders who had served their sentences,” the Home Office said.
The government said it would continue tightening immigration rules to reduce net migration, strengthen border control and reshape legal immigration around skills and contributions.
A viral video obtained by Diaspora Tales showed an African man sleeping in a bin on a snowy street in the UK. In the clip, a European passerby urged him to use a shelter provided by the government.
Nigerians in the UK told Diaspora Tales that fear of arrest, detention and deportation has forced many illegal migrants to leave their homes and sleep on the streets.
Mrs. Gisela Esapa, speaking from Dunstable County, said migrants who sleep on the streets or in bins are often homeless and, in some cases, involved in minor crimes. She added that homelessness is not limited to Nigerians or other Africans, noting that some British and European residents also face similar circumstances. Esapa said some Nigerians arrived in the UK illegally and became unemployed, leaving them without shelter.
