Category: Immigration

Stories of Welcome: Congolese refugees are embraced by their new community in Boise, Idaho

By International Rescue Committee

Jacqueline Uwumeremyi fled from the Democratic Republic of Congo to South Africa because of violence. After facing constant xenophobia because of her refugee status, she and her five children were finally resettled in Boise, Idaho, in 2018.

Continue reading “Stories of Welcome: Congolese refugees are embraced by their new community in Boise, Idaho”

Demonstrators in Sudbury demand fairness for migrants

By Jim Moodie | Sudbury Star

When the recent high school grad began exploring funding options to attend Laurentian University, however, it “felt like there was this big, huge wall,” she said. That’s because Adeoti hails from Nigeria and, despite having lived in Canada for three years, has not yet secured permanent residency.

Continue reading “Demonstrators in Sudbury demand fairness for migrants”

Why restrictive immigration may be bad for U.S. entrepreneurship

by Meredith Somers | MIT Sloan

A new study shows that, relative to their population, immigrant-founded businesses create 42% more jobs in America than ones started by U.S.-born entrepreneurs.Share 

Continue reading “Why restrictive immigration may be bad for U.S. entrepreneurship”

More US visa woe for Nigerians under Trump

by: Daniel Waldron and Sanwar Ali | Workpermit.com

Donald Trump is perhaps too willing to put restrictions on African Countries.  Security concerns have been used as an excuse for a more wide ranging ban on “black immigration” from Countries such as Nigeria.  It is one thing to prevent entry of individuals who have behaved in an unacceptable way.  It is quite another to have a more wide ranging ban on immigration

Continue reading “More US visa woe for Nigerians under Trump”

ICE tried to deport Cameroonian-American woman using illegal travel documents

By Joe Penney | Jeo Penny Substack

ICE attempted to deport one of the women who had her fallopian tubes removed against her consent using expired, potentially illegal documents from an honorary consul who has issued a false travel document for ICE in the past, her mother said.

Continue reading “ICE tried to deport Cameroonian-American woman using illegal travel documents”

Where to find free or low-cost immigration law services

By ALLAN WERNICK | NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Q. Are there free resources available to help me become a U.S. citizen? Or is there an inexpensive and fair lawyer you can recommend? I am currently out of work.

Continue reading “Where to find free or low-cost immigration law services”

US Green Card Lottery lifeline issued by federal judge

by: Daniel Waldron and Sanwar Ali | Workpermit.com

It does seem to be somewhat unfair that people enter the lottery, are lucky enough to be picked, and then are told that they cannot apply for a US Green Card visa because of the Trump work visa ban.  Perhaps false advertising!  Fortunately, Judge Mehta’s recent judgement says that US visa lottery applicants should be able to apply, despite the “Trump ban”. 

Continue reading “US Green Card Lottery lifeline issued by federal judge”

VALLEY PULPIT: Thank God for immigrants

John Vaudry | Gananoque Reporter

When the topic of immigration comes up, we are usually reminded that we are all immigrants, and this is true. The founders of Pembroke, were born in Scotland and Ireland; others came here later from Germany and other parts of Europe. Even the Aboriginal people are descended from migrants, if you go back far enough.

Continue reading “VALLEY PULPIT: Thank God for immigrants”

The struggles of an immigrant student trying to fit in American Culture

By Elaisa Acosta Meneses | The City College Times

The first time she walked the streets of New York City, she asked someone for directions and he said, without even slowing down his pace, “New Yorkers are fast. If you collide with them, you’ll pass out,” Unathi Zibi said, describing her first encounter with American culture at her arrival in the U.S. in 2015.

Continue reading “The struggles of an immigrant student trying to fit in American Culture”

New York City Organizations Serving Immigrant Communities

The following is a list of organizations that work with immigrant communities in the State of New York. The document is being updated constantly.

By Nicolás Ríos | Documented

Continue reading “New York City Organizations Serving Immigrant Communities”

President Trump welcomes 5 new American Citizens including Ghanaian and Sudanese

By The White House | Prescott eNews

President Trump joined Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf yesterday as five new American Citizens took the Oath of Allegiance to the United States during a naturalization ceremony at the White House.

Continue reading “President Trump welcomes 5 new American Citizens including Ghanaian and Sudanese”

Wealthy Nigerians are buying up passports for cash from Caribbean nations to beat visa rules

By Yomi Kazeem | Quartz

A year ago, the office of Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP) in the small Caribbean island nation  of St. Lucia had received no applications from any Africans in its nearly five years of operations.But in the past few months, it has issued up to 60 passports to Nigerians and is reporting steady increases in applications from the country—still its sole African market.

Continue reading “Wealthy Nigerians are buying up passports for cash from Caribbean nations to beat visa rules”

Key findings about U.S. immigrants

BY ABBY BUDIMAN | Pew Research Center

The United States has more immigrants than any other country in the world. Today, more than 40 million people living in the U.S. were born in another country, accounting for about one-fifth of the world’s migrants. The population of immigrants is also very diverse, with just about every country in the world represented among U.S. immigrants.

Continue reading “Key findings about U.S. immigrants”

How South African H-2A workers are helping American farmers

By Loretta Sorensen | Hay and Forage Magazine

It’s been about 20 years since southeast South Dakota alfalfa producer Mike Brosnan recognized the need to look outside the United States for seasonal workers who could help with hay harvest throughout the summer.

Continue reading “How South African H-2A workers are helping American farmers”

USCIS announces massive increases in U.S. immigration fees

BY DANIEL SHOER ROTH | Miami Herald

The Trump administration announced on Friday an exorbitant increase in fees for some of the most common immigration procedures, including an 81% increase in the cost of U.S. citizenship for naturalization. It will also now charge asylum-seekers, which is an unprecedented move.

Continue reading “USCIS announces massive increases in U.S. immigration fees”

Despite closed borders, the US is still deporting Africans during the pandemic

By Joe Penney | Quartz

While flights across Africa have grounded to a halt and many nations have shut their borders to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, one American agency has ignored directives to stop cross-border travel. According to figures from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. has deported at least 189 African nationals to their countries of origin from Mar. 1 to Jun. 20.

Continue reading “Despite closed borders, the US is still deporting Africans during the pandemic”

Canada-U.S. Asylum Treaty Ruled Unconstitutional Because Of ‘Cruel’ Conditions

By MATTHEW S. SCHWARTZ | NPR

In a harsh rebuke of America’s treatment of refugees, a Canadian judge has ruled that an asylum treaty with the U.S. violates Canada’s own charter of human rights, because it returns asylum-seekers to the U.S., where they are “immediately and automatically imprisoned” by U.S. authorities, often under inhumane conditions.

Continue reading “Canada-U.S. Asylum Treaty Ruled Unconstitutional Because Of ‘Cruel’ Conditions”

Rising migration restrictions are driving African refugees into the hands of Latin American smugglers

By Chidinma Irene Nwoye | Quartz

In 2016, Brazilian Federal Police uncovered a smuggling network operating between Brazil and South Africa that delivered fake visas to Africans seeking to travel through Latin America to the United States or Canada. The documents allowed migrants to enter Brazil, Bolivia or Venezuela without getting arrested.

Continue reading “Rising migration restrictions are driving African refugees into the hands of Latin American smugglers”

100 Ghanaians to be deported from USA

BY: Nana Konadu Agyeman | Graphic Online

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has told Parliament that 22 Ghanaians are currently in the process of being deported from the United States of America (USA) for breaching the immigration laws of that country. She said they were part of 100 Ghanaians on the list of persons who were at different stages of removal from the USA.

Continue reading “100 Ghanaians to be deported from USA”

African immigrant group fears defunding amid turmoil and government inaction | CBC News

2 groups claim to run African Diaspora Association of the Maritimes, but Liberals won’t say who’s legitimate

By Jon Tattrie  |  CBC News 

Continue reading “African immigrant group fears defunding amid turmoil and government inaction | CBC News”

2020 Great American Immigrants Awards | Eight Africans named among honorees by Carnegie Corporation of New York

By Ebimo Amungo

The Carnegie Corporation of New York has released its annual list of Great American Immigrants and among the 2020 awardees are eight African immigrants born in Nigeria, Eritrea, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Sudan and Ghana, as well as a Canadian born by Ghanaian parents.

Continue reading “2020 Great American Immigrants Awards | Eight Africans named among honorees by Carnegie Corporation of New York”

We Can’t Talk About Immigration without Acknowledging Black Immigrants

BY KOVIE BIAKOLO  | Yes! Magazine

This year, New York City celebrates the centennial of the Harlem Renaissance, the cultural movement that helped shape the intellectual, artistic, and social life of Black people. Before the coronavirus pandemic that shut down the city, cultural events and musical tributes had been held and were planned in Harlem, the neighborhood that characterized and gave the era its name.

Continue reading “We Can’t Talk About Immigration without Acknowledging Black Immigrants”

From Angola to America: Ana’s Journey From Nothing to Nowhere

By Pedro Cardoso | Elephant

On 18 April, for fear of creating hotbeds of COVID 19 contagion, a Mexico City judge ordered the release of migrants from sixty-five overcrowded immigration centres in the country. By the end of that month, with both the northern and southern border lines under lockdown, the Mexican National Migration Institute (INM) estimated that over twenty thousand migrants were now stranded around border lines; under the lockdown, even appointments to identify refugees are suspended. Among those now either living in makeshift camps or left to their own devices in the country are an estimated four thousand Africans.

Continue reading “From Angola to America: Ana’s Journey From Nothing to Nowhere”

Kwame Asante: Ghanaian joins other immigrants in Drive-thru ceremony to become American citizens

by Steve Hartman | CBS

In America, you can get almost anything in a drive-thru – now, including one very happy spiel: The oath of allegiance to become a U.S. citizen.

Continue reading “Kwame Asante: Ghanaian joins other immigrants in Drive-thru ceremony to become American citizens”

Hani Garabyare: President Trump Told Me to Go Back to Somalia. So, I Did

By Hani Garabyare | The Root

Last July, President Trump made headlines by lashing out at a group of progressive congresswomen—among them Representative Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), the first Somali elected to Congress—and told them to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime-infested places from which they came.” Days later, crowds at a Trump rally were crying out Ilhan Omar’s name and chanting “send her back.”

Continue reading “Hani Garabyare: President Trump Told Me to Go Back to Somalia. So, I Did”

Study shows African immigrants in U.S. do well, despite differences among them

By University of Kansas

President Donald Trump may have nearly ended the flow of refugees and other African immigrants to the United States, but a new study shows that at least those from Nigeria are well-educated, hardworking and contribute more to society than they cost the American social security system. The paper contrasts Nigerian newcomers with those from Somalia, whose work ethic is similarly strong, but whose lack of education hurts their employment prospects here.

Continue reading “Study shows African immigrants in U.S. do well, despite differences among them”

American dream — Even amid the turmoil this immigrant believes. Here’s why

By Michael Youssef | Fox News

I was born into the ancient Christian community in Egypt during a time of great social change, but I was also an American in my heart long before I ever became a citizen. Why did I — and why do countless others around the world — dream of coming to America?

Continue reading “American dream — Even amid the turmoil this immigrant believes. Here’s why”