Source: News Americas, New York, November 29, 2022. Republished by Dreamlight High School.
Black immigrants, regardless of where they came from, find both challenges and opportunities for themselves after moving to the US.
The growth of the Black immigrant population
Over the last decades, the population of Black immigrants in the United States has more than tripled. While twenty years ago it was 600,000, today the number of Black immigrants is about 2 million. The majority of migrants come from African and Caribbean countries, which makes the population quite diverse. Most Black immigrants arrive legally as permanent residents with family ties. Refugees from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Liberia, Somalia and Sudan comprised 30% of all Black African immigrants in 2021, while around 20% entered the United States through the visa lottery program, which provides 55,000 visas each year to countries under-represented in immigrant streams to the USA. Around 400,000 Black immigrants reside in the United States with no legal status.
Even with such a fast-growing population, Black immigrants still face unique challenges rooted in the historical discrimination of Black people. They are detained and deported more often than other immigrant populations.
Economic discrimination
Economic success in the United States depends heavily on fluent English. The better the conversational practice of English, the more likely immigrants are to be employed and the higher their income. So why do Black immigrants commonly have far better English skills yet much lower income, and why are they more often unemployed or living under the federal poverty line? The reason is not education: Black immigrants are as educated as most immigrants on average, and sub-Saharan African immigrants are better educated than other groups. Well-educated immigrants face difficulties finding work in their field because of the barriers to transferring accreditation and skills from their home country, and racial and anti-immigrant bias plays a part.
Nevertheless, Black immigrants make significant contributions to the United States economy. In 2018, Black immigrant households paid $23 billion in federal income taxes and $13 billion in state and local taxes. Black immigrant entrepreneurs create jobs and strengthen the economy.
Bias in education
Although most Black immigrants have a better than average knowledge of English, four out of ten still require assistance in learning it. Stereotypes make it harder for them to access the resources they need, and alienate students who are also facing racial discrimination for the first time.
Surveys show that teacher expectations have an essential impact on a student’s performance. Hidden racial bias often leads teachers to set lower expectations for Black students, and for students who are not native English speakers. Black English language learners perform worse on math and reading exams than either non-Black or Black native speakers. Bias in schools has more serious consequences too: Black students can be arrested for behaviors that non-Black students are not punished for, which funnels them into the criminal justice system.
Bias in criminal justice
Black immigrants are returned to their home country and prevented from returning more often than immigrants of other races. Immigrants commit crimes less often than U.S.-born people, but Black immigrants are still more likely to intersect with the criminal justice system. Black and Latin residents are more likely to be stopped by police than white residents, and Black non-citizens make up 20% of those facing deportation on criminal grounds. Even a minor charge, treated as a misdemeanor in criminal court, can result in automatic deportation in immigration court.
Like all immigrants, Black immigrants chase their dreams and want to provide their families with a better life. They come with the intention to improve their new homeland as well. Today Black immigrants contribute $36 billion in tax revenue every year, start businesses more frequently than U.S.-born Americans and create jobs for everyone.
At Dreamlight High School, immigrants who need to validate or complete their secondary education are welcome. See who can apply.