Africans and Black immigrants at the US-Mexico Border

As borders across the world close, the options decrease for Africans and Black immigrants from Latin America and the Caribbean seeking political asylum.

Over the years, the US-Mexico border has become a viable option for Africans and other Black immigrants such as Haitians, Hondurans and Belizeans, who use the US-Mexico divide to enter the United States.

Many have called for more attention towards black undocumented immigrants who have largely been invisible in conversations around current anti-immigration climate. Nana Gyamfi, chair of Black Alliance for Just Immigration and co-founder of Justice Warriors 4 Black Lives, points to the thousands of Black people at the borders who await asylum.

Back in late January, four continental African migrants were arrested as a result of a three day raid conducted in Mexico by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, as well as the US Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) agency, according to a report from All Africa.

The four African nationals-from Cameroon, Liberia, Nigeria and Zimbabwe-were among 86 suspects (mostly Mexican) arrested during the sting. In a sea of an estimated 11 million faces who cross the threshold, these Black migrants are apart of a gradually increasing number who decide crossing into the US from Mexico is easier than leaving from their respective countries of origin.

For those who have not experienced safe entry into the United States, have taken another route in their immigration journeys. They’ve decided to stop. A Haitian community gradually forms in Tijuana, a border city with San Diego with immigrants who were stopped from coming into the United States. About 3,000 men who left Haiti to find work after the 2010 earthquake, now earn a living in Baja, California. With the current US Administration ending temporary protective status for Haitian immigrants earlier last year, the community is expected to grow.

*This article was updated 30 June 2017 11:19 EST