POPULATION:
1. Black immigrants are one of the fastest-growing demographics in the United States but are often excluded from the mainstream immigrant narrative.
2. Caribbean and African immigrants account for 88% of all Black foreign-born people. Of the Black population in the U.S, one in ten are Black immigrants. [Cite: Pew Research Center]
BLACK IMMIGRANTS ARE CRIMINALIZED TWOFOLD IN THE U.S:
3. Black immigrants make up only 5.4% of the unauthorized population in the U.S, yet more than one out of every five people facing deportation on criminal grounds is Black (cite: Black Alliance for Just Immigration, State of Black Immigrants Report)
4. Black immigrants live at the intersection of mass incarceration and mass deportation. The racial bias in the criminal justice system results in Black immigrants being disproportionately incarcerated, or criminally charged and deported in comparison to the non-Black immigrant population.
5. A report published by the Black Alliance for Just Immigration finds that “while within the immigrant population, individuals are 3.5 times more likely to be detained for an immigration violation than a criminal conviction, the reverse is true for Caribbean immigrants in particular, who are almost twice as likely to be detained for a criminal conviction than an immigration violation.”
AT THE BORDER:
6. Black immigrants make up the largest group of immigrants migrating through the border after Mexicans and Central Americans. Over 7,000, Black immigrants are now residing in several border towns in Mexico, unable to seek asylum due to policies such as Title 42.
7. Title 42, backed by the CDC, authorizes DHS to expel asylum seekers and other immigrants at the border because they are an alleged COVID-19 risk. Countless public health officials have debunked this theory, and the policy reflects the racist stereotype that immigrants carry disease.
8. On their journey to the Mexican-U.S. border, Black immigrants also face racism and anti-Blackness in South America and Central America. In border towns, Black immigrants are exposed to the anti-Blackness and criminalization that both the Mexican government and the U.S Border Enforcement encourage.
TAKE ACTION:
9. Right now, Black immigrants are in a state of emergency. The Biden Administration has failed to provide support and justice for Black immigrants while continuing to authorize deportation flights of Haitian asylum seekers and Cameroon asylum seekers.
10. You can sign UndocuBlack’s petition, “DEMAND BIDEN END THE WAR ON BLACK IMMIGRANTS” bit.ly/JusticeForBlackMigrants
a. Uplift Black-immigrant-led organizations such as Haitian Bridge Alliance, African Communities Together, Black Alliance for Black Immigration, Cameroon Advocacy Network, and UndocuBlack Network.