7/27/2019 Black Immigrant Fact Sheet

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Freedom and justice are universal rights that every human being is entitled to , and immigrationreform must work toward establishing respect for the human rights of the diverse population offamilies and hard-working individuals that contribute greatly to the U.S. economy, culture andcommunity. Any plan for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) must include the critical concernsand unique issues faced by the more than 3 million Black immigrants in the United States. Anestimated 400,000 who are undocumented.

The term Black Immigrants refers to immigrants of African descent. About 1.7 million of whom arefrom the Caribbean while 1.2 million are from Africa, and others come from Europe, Asia, Australiaand Latin American countries to comprise over 10% of the total immigrant population.

Between 2000 and 2009, the African immigrant population grew by 92 percent, while the Caribbeanimmigrant population rose by only 19 percent.

Black Immigrants have been and continue to be active co ntributors to the social and economic

fabric of the U.S.A . African immigrants alone spend well over $50 billion as consumers in America.Black immigrants are the most educated people in the United States with the share of Africanimmigrants with a college education, advanced and professional degrees signicantly higher (38percent) than those of U.S.-born people. They also work in a wide-range of industries, ranging fromengineering and medical professionals, small-business owners and entrepreneurs, to skilled tradesand unskilled labor, hospitality and domestic workers.

Two-thirds of all Caribbean immigrants live in New York and Florida , accounting for the majorityof the Black foreign-born population in each of these states. New Jersey, Massachusetts, Georgia,Maryland, and Connecticut are the states host to the largest numbers of Black immigrants from theCaribbean. And African immigrants are most heavily concentrated in New York, Texas,California, Florida, and Illinois.

Racial discrimination and proling result in disproportionate rates of unemployment, incarceration, detention and deportation. African and Caribbean immigrants are detained anddeported at 5 times the rate of in relation to undocumented immigrants from other countries who arein the U.S. in far greater numbers. In New York City, for example, Jamaicans, Haitians and Dominicanssu ffer the highest deportation rates, and illustrates the racial dimension of enforcement policies.Nigeria and Brazil are also on the top-10 list of countries on the national origin deportation list.

African immigrants earnings are surprisingly low, despite their high levels of formal education andEnglish prociency. In 2007, median annual earnings for African immigrants were $27,000 about 20percent below the median for US-born workers ($33,000). The Bureau of Labor statistics recentlyreported that, Black Immigrants in 2011 had the highest unemployment (12.5 percent) of any foreign-born group in the U.S.

Complicated and limited visa procedures, barriers to family unication and compromised workersrights and civil rights leave Black Immigrant families subject to exploitation and victimization.

Although Black Immigrants face similar issues theyre not a monolithic group. Caribbean immigrantsoften arrive in the U.S. as Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs), while African immigrants may arrive asrefugees or asylees from countries such as Somalia and Liberia. Other African immigrants arrivethrough the Diversity Lottery Visa Program. Fair and Just Immigration Reform must address the

issues of all black immigrant communities.

BLACK IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES

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