As attacks on immigrant communities continue to ramp up under the Trump administrationās mass deportation campaign, Nnamdi Ihenacho is determined to combat fear by empowering his fellow immigrants with the knowledge and resources they need to succeed in the United States.
Since Ihenacho, a Nigerian immigrant, founded the African Immigrant (AIM) Collective last May, they have hosted workshops on navigating cultural differences as well as professional and educational barriers.
The Atlanta metro has the fourth-largest population of Black immigrants in the country, with around 200,000 people, according to Pew Research. While Black immigrants from the Caribbean still make up the largest share, the number of African-born immigrants more than tripled between 2000 and 2019. With this sizable population there’s power to be exercised in both politics and business.
Last weekend in an office park in Tucker, AIM Collective hosted its first Advocacy and Policy Conference open to immigrants from across the African diaspora.
āA new level of consciousness has to arise among our people,ā Ihenacho told the in-person and virtual conference attendees. āNow is the time to reach back out and not just lift others up, but create something that makes the system better.ā
The conference speakers represented a range of fields including Georgia state Rep. Segun Adeyina, finance and policy adviser Bukie Faforiji, and attorneys Uzo Akpele, Olivia Mugenga, Cassandra Charles, and Johanna Leblanc.
A small in-person crowd and a few dozen virtual participants heard speakers discuss some of the most prevalent challenges newer African immigrants are facing in the U.S., like having a degree that doesnāt transfer, lack of credit history, and navigating American bureaucracy.
While immigrants, even those with legal status, find themselves at risk of detention or deportation, Black immigrants are facing a unique challenge because of how race impacts their relationship to police and the courts.
An analysis of federal data by the Black Alliance for Just Immigration found that the average immigrant with a criminal record has a 45% chance of being deported, but Black immigrants with a criminal conviction have a 76% chance of facing deportation. For immigrants from the Caribbean, it is 83%.
Nana Gyamfi, BAJIās executive director, spoke from her home in California about the importance of civic engagement for Black immigrants to create change.
āThe goal of [our work] is so that when it’s time to fight against 287(g) in Atlanta [the partnership between ICE and local law enforcement], to fight against the āCop Cities,ā to fight for resources for our people so that we can live ā¦ that we have built the narrative, the relationships, and the vehicle to be able to fight those things and to block whatever is negative and to build whatever it is that we need to build,ā Gyamfi said.
One way to effect change in these areas, according to conference participants, is through political influence. Leblanc, a Haitian American attorney and national security expert from Washington, D.C., highlighted the need for African immigrants and members of the African diaspora who have legal status and economic power to get involved in policy and decision-making.
āWe cannot negate how vitally important it is for the diaspora to be fully and economically empowered in order to influence and shape policies domestically that will impact the African continent and other parts of the world where you have a great number of people of African descent,ā Leblanc said.
Moving forward, Ihenacho said AIM Collective will continue to work on mobilizing immigrants to create opportunities and pathways for change. He said their next plan is to launch a six-week leadership and civic engagement program to teach the next generation of African immigrants how to get a foot into the policy-making world.
āThe next step in our chapter must be written with purpose, with our voices at the table and our values guiding the way,ā he said.
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