In hiding, African immigrants concerned over Trump’s policies

World Today

Some Africans living in the U-S have gone into hiding concerned about President Trump’s immigration policies.

CGTN’s Daniel Ryntjes reports.
Follow Daniel Ryntjes on Twitter @danielryntjes

The majority of nearly 1.8 million African-born immigrants living in the United States came into this country legally, either as refugees, students or visitors. Still, some have overstayed.

“A lot of them are now in hiding. A lot of people are afraid even to come out in meetings because of the fear of deportation,” Ekourba Yeboah, president of American Africans United said.

President Obama deported around 2.5 million undocumented immigrants, 91 percent had been previously convicted of a criminal offence and that was his priority. He also worked to try to enable narrow paths to legal inclusion through their children, whether born abroad or in the United States. Now African community leaders are trying to work out if even these narrow paths could be shut down.

“Most of the kids didn’t come to the school since the election or have not come to school because they are afraid to leave, got to school, come home and not find their parents,” Stephen Bota, director of American Africans United said.

Advocacy groups like American Africans United has been meeting to discuss how to deal with all these anxieties.

“I really believe that Africans at this time should get as much education, they should get as much resources,” Yvette Butler, special assistant of American Africans United said.

They are forming alliances with Latino activists and immigration lawyers who have spent years battling on these issues.

These community leaders want Trump, the businessman turned President, to know that African immigrants are the highest educated of any major group of immigrants in the country.