Research by Corra shows that black immigrants who live in the USA have multiplied over the years (2023). This is evidenced by an alarming number of 4.6 million Black immigrants living in the U.S. in 2019, which shows an increase of about 800,000, which is 19% of the overall growth in the Black population since 1980 (Corra, 2023). According to Corra, the Black immigrant population is projected to contribute approximately a third of the U.S. Black population’s growth through 2060 (Corra, 2023b).
*Recent immigration connections are characterized by approx. 9% of second-generation Americans (i.e. those born in the U.S. and have at least one foreign-based parent), the first and second generations represent 21% of the overall Black population (Corra, 2023b) (Anderson, 2024).
*According to Greenwood & Greenwood, 2019, the Black African immigrant population increased by 246%, from about 600,000 to 2.0 million, constituting 42% of the overall foreign-born Black population.
*This proportion is comparable to that among Americans overall but lower than the share among Hispanics, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders (Anderson, 2024).
*Jamaica and Haiti are the two largest origin countries in the Caribbean, representing 16% and 15% of Black immigrants, respectively (Greenwood & Greenwood, 2024).
*Arrival Patterns: Over 58% of Black immigrants arrived in the U.S. after 2000, three-in-ten (31%) came between 2010 and 2019, and about 27% representing more than a quarter came between 2000 and 2009 (Anderson, 2024b).
*Historical Context: The trans-Atlantic slave trade marked the beginning of the Black population in the U.S., with the first record of an enslaved African person in 1619 (Greenwood & Greenwood, 2024).
*Contrary, Black immigrants born in other regions such as the Caribbean, Central America, or Mexico, inclusive, came to the U.S. earlier, on average (Anderson, 2024b)
*Restrictive immigration policies on non-Western Europeans after the U.S. Civil War slowed the voluntary migration of Black people to the U.S. until the mid-20th century (Greenwood & Greenwood, 2024).
*The Caribbean and Africa are the largest origin regions for Black immigrants, accounting for 88% of all Black foreign-born people in the U.S. in 2019 (Greenwood & Greenwood, 2024).
*The recent wave of voluntary Black immigration is largely due to changing immigration policies over the 20th century, e.g. the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 and the Refugee Act of 1980 (Greenwood & Greenwood, 2024).
Reference
Anderson, M. (2024, April 14). Key findings about Black immigrants in the U.S. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/01/27/key-findings-about-black-immigrants-in-the-u-s/
Anderson, M. (2024b, April 14). Key findings about Black immigrants in the U.S. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/01/27/key-findings-about-black-immigrants-in-the-u-s/
Corra, M. (2023). Immigration from Africa to the United States: key insights from recent research. Frontiers in Sociology, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2023.1171818
Corra, M. (2023b). Immigration from Africa to the United States: key insights from recent research. Frontiers in Sociology, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2023.1171818
Greenwood, S., & Greenwood, S. (2024, April 14). 1. The Caribbean is the largest origin source of Black immigrants, but fastest growth is among African immigrants. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/2022/01/20/the-caribbean-is-the-largest-origin-source-of-black-immigrants-but-fastest-growth-is-among-african-immigrants/
