One of the most underreported aspects of life for Black undocumented migrants can be summed up in one statistic: They’re deported at a rate four times more often than their numbers would suggest, according to an analysis of federal data by the Black Alliance for Just Immigration.
The analysis showed that while Black migrants make up 5.4% of the undocumented population in the U.S., they make up 20.3% of migrants facing removal based on criminal convictions.
The data was presented in 2022 and includes arrest and deportation records from the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations. It underscores the disproportionate threats that Black migrants face as the Trump administration’s new travel ban and quota of 3,000 migration-related arrests per day go into effect.
This stark disparity exists despite data that shows all migrant populations commit crimes at similar rates.
And it feels especially acute as millions of Black migrants are at heightened risk of detention and deportation. According to the analysis, one study found that 24% of the people in solitary confinement were Black migrants even though they make up less than 4% of detainees in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.
The president’s recent travel ban also prohibits travel to the U.S. for citizens of a dozen countries, most of them in Africa and the Middle East.
“I think that the mood is weariness and fear,” Ronald Claude, Black Alliance for Just Immigration’s policy and advocacy director, told Capital B. “We have to remember that some of these folks, they’ve been in the U.S. for more than 10 or 15 years. They have whole communities that care about them and that they’re an integral part of. And now all of that could suddenly disappear.”
When Policing Leads to Deportation
The disparity in deportation stems from what researchers refer to as the “prison to ICE to deportation pipeline.”
Black people in the U.S. are arrested at 2.5 times the rate of their white counterparts, despite similar criminal activity rates, according to a report by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. Once entangled in the criminal legal system, Black migrants are often flagged by ICE, creating a pathway from routine traffic stops to deportation proceedings. Among the most frequent forms of police contact leading to deportation are simple traffic violations.
These enforcement patterns disproportionately affect Black migrant families as cities continue to protest the Trump administration’s deportation plans. Once inside ICE detention facilities, the targeting becomes even more severe for Black migrants, according to research and survey reports.
Freedom for Immigrants reports that Black migrants in federal custody are almost twice as likely to experience abuse from guards and staff, and 28% of all abuse-related reports come from Black migrants, who account for only 6% of the total ICE detention population. Black detainees also are about six times more likely to be placed in solitary confinement within these facilities, according to a University of California study.
In the days ahead, members of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration will be on Capitol Hill, lobbying the Congressional Black Caucus. Claude said that he and his colleagues want members of the CBC to view the plight of Black migrants as a priority, given that many of the issues that affect Black migrants — including police brutality — also affect Black Americans who are citizens.
“The enforcement Ferris wheel of ICE, CBP [U.S. Customs and Border Protection], police, you name it — it impacts all Black people,” he said. “We’re trying to bring that narrative to elected officials so that they have this understanding, so that when we go to communities on the South Side of Chicago or anywhere else, we can say, ‘Hey, you’re against police brutality? We are, too.’”
Capital B staff writer Brandon Tensley contributed to this report.
Read More: Trump’s Travel Ban Targets Black Migrants as Protests and Deportations Spread