TrueWordMinistry
No Result
View All Result
Thursday, April 15, 2021
  • HOME
  • BLACK NEWS
  • BLACK STARS
  • AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • PODCAST
DONATE
Order Book
  • HOME
  • BLACK NEWS
  • BLACK STARS
  • AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • PODCAST
No Result
View All Result
TrueWordMinistry
No Result
View All Result
Home AFRICAN DIASPORA

Deportation of African and Other Black Immigrants Is Quietly Increasing

Stephen Small by Stephen Small
December 11, 2019
Reading Time: 6min read
0
ICE arresting black man

RELATED POSTS

Nigeria’s Zamfara school abduction: More than 300 Nigerian girls missing

USC students reboot NAACP chapter as energy increases around building controversy

How Philadelphia’s Black churches overcame disease, depression and civil strife

Although often not covered in the media, the African immigrant community is facing mass deportations in the era of Donald Trump. While the immigration debate in the U.S. is often framed in terms of undocumented immigrants from Mexico and Central America on the one hand and the infamous Muslim travel ban on the other, the issue is more complicated. As the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency conducts its sweeps on immigrant communities, African people are among those who are being detained and deported. While deportations were in no short supply under the Obama administration, these deportations are expected to soar under Trump, whose immigration ban on six Muslim nations includes three African nations — Libya, Somalia and Sudan. Trump also is clamping down on refugees and asylum seekers.

According to data from the Department of Homeland Security, in 2015, ICE deported 1,293 African immigrants. Since the 2016 election, the ICE raids on Black immigrant communities have intensified. For example, in January, 86 men and women were deported to Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, after being detained and imprisoned, as Africanews.com reported. In November, 108 immigrants were deported to Ghana and 20 people also were deported to Liberia, while 53 others were processed for deportation. Earlier this month, ICE deported 130 people to Senegal, six times the number recorded by the agency in its 2016 report.

There are 2.5 million African immigrants in the U.S., according to the Pew Research Center.  When including the Caribbean, Latin America and other regions, there are as many as five million Black immigrants in America. People from Africa experienced the fastest growth rate of the immigrant groups coming to the U.S., 41 percent between 2000 and 2013.

In its “State of Black Immigrants 2016” report, co-authored with the New York University School of Law Immigrant Rights Clinic, the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) found that Black immigrants are much more likely to be deported due to a criminal conviction than nationals from other regions of the world. More than one out of five noncitizens facing deportation on criminal grounds is Black. Tia Oso, national organizer for BAJI whose organization works on advocacy, education and direct action on issues impacting Black immigrants and African-Americans, said there is not nearly enough coverage of what is happening regarding the deportations.

The biggest issue with the executive order as far as Black immigrants are concerned, Oso noted, is that fully one-third of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers are African. “So, to have a ban on refugee resettlement here — a ban on Somalia, Libya and Sudan — is 100 percent to reduce the number of immigrants from these countries, who are Black Africans, from coming to the U.S.” she said. “We have families who are being split up, family members being stuck in limbo in the refugee camps. These people have already been approved, already vetted and assigned to be resettled in the U.S.” Oso said these policies are designed to reduce to the number of Black and brown people.

Not all immigrants are treated equally or being targeted by immigration agents. For example, there are approximately 50,000 undocumented Irish immigrants in the U.S., as CNN reported, yet they are not facing the threat of police raids and deportations. “If this was about immigration, then the undocumented Irish and European folks would be a part of the roundups,” Oso said. “The people being deported are from Mexico, Central America, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. So, this is about keeping America white, not making America great.”

She also said that “the roots of the anti-immigration movement are directly rooted to white nationalism and the white citizens councils, and are related to maintaining the white power structure in narrowly defining who is American and is free to live in the country.”

The BAJI report emphasized that “Black people are far more likely than any other population to be arrested, convicted and imprisoned in the U.S. criminal enforcement system — the system upon which immigration enforcement increasingly relies.” Immigrants, in particular, are exposed to more risks when they are stopped by law enforcement for minor offenses, and when they are arrested the local police share fingerprint data with immigration authorities.

“When the police decide to take on the duties of federal immigration enforcement, they often use these stops to question people about their immigration status and to turn immigrants over to ICE,” the report added. Immigrants also are susceptible to guilty pleas that could result in removal proceedings, with a criminal conviction resulting in possible detention and deportation.

Another issue that the public is not paying attention to, Oso noted, is the increase in the number of ICE and border patrol agents in the Trump budget. These law enforcement agents cooperate and are used in jurisdictional task forces. In April 2015, an unarmed Black man named Terrence Kellum, 20, was shot to death in his Detroit home by a Black ICE agent who was a member of a multi-agency fugitive task force operation called the Detroit Fugitive Apprehension Team (DFAT). As ThinkProgress reported, officers were attempting to serve an armed robbery warrant at the Kellum household when the shooting took place.

“African-American folks would say this has nothing to do with us, we are not immigrants,” Oso said. “[But] Increased surveillance can be weaponized and used against Black people.”

Tags: AfricaAfricanAfrican American NewsBlack News
ShareTweetPin
Stephen Small

Stephen Small

Rev. Small realized God was present in his life as a child, and grew into an adult with a passion for knowing and understanding God, people and the difficulties of life. Rev. Small soon can to know Jesus Christ, and the presence of the Holy Spirit has he experienced the storms, trails, and tribulations of life as a Black man in America. Rev. Stephen C. Small survived numerous demonic assaults on his life, which gave meaning to God’s grace and mercy. Rev. Small reasoned that God’s presence in the world gives hope, meaning and purpose; it is the essence of learning, love and relationships. Rev. Small humbled himself and opened his heart and mind to listening, learning and obeying God. On sabbatical from a business career, Rev. Small earned a Biblical Studies degree, and Master of Divinity. Rev. Small’s faith and dedication to serving God is the reason he created Trueword Ministry; TWM’s website as an evangelism tool, designed to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to Africans, African Descendants and the entire human race.

Related Posts

Nigeria’s Zamfara school abduction: More than 300 Nigerian girls missing
Africa

Nigeria’s Zamfara school abduction: More than 300 Nigerian girls missing

by Stephen Small
February 26, 2021
0

More than 300 schoolgirls have been kidnapped by unidentified gunmen from a school in Nigeria's north-western Zamfara state, police say....

Caley Bright
AFRICAN DIASPORA

USC students reboot NAACP chapter as energy increases around building controversy

by Stephen Small
February 25, 2021
0

Caley Bright, the President of the USC Chapter of NAACP, speaks during a press conference outside The Thomas Cooper Library...

Next Post
Black People Do Battle In The Mental Spiritual Realm

Black People Do Battle In The Mental Spiritual Realm

life cycle

God Understands Life

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Recommended Articles

4 Black celebrities send big donations to help Hurricane Dorian victims in the Bahamas

4 Black celebrities send big donations to help Hurricane Dorian victims in the Bahamas

November 24, 2019
indian people

India’s Christians, Muslims face higher persecution since Modi government

November 15, 2019
China downplays Solomon island lease debacle, tells U.S. to stay out

China downplays Solomon island lease debacle, tells U.S. to stay out

October 30, 2019

Daily Prayer

Tweets by @https://twitter.com/stephencsmall
TrueWordMinistry

Trueword Ministry’s website offers 24/7 access to bible lessons, podcasts, sermons and news that inspires. The central purpose of the website is to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to Africans, Afro-descendants and friends.

LEARN MORE »

About Us

  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Service
  • Mission Statement
  • Submit A Story
  • Our Ministries

Categories

  • Africa
  • African Diaspora
  • Black News
  • Black Stars
  • Christian Awareness
  • Politics

Sign up for our news letter

Get Bible Lessons, News and Inspiring Articles in your inbox.

© 2021 All rights reserved by TrueWordMinistry.

No Result
View All Result
  • Politics
  • Podcast
  • PREACHING
  • Bible Lessons
  • Black News
  • Black Stars
  • Politics
  • Donation

© 2021 All rights reserved by TrueWordMinistry.