In conversations around the border migrant crisis, oftentimes the stories of Black migrants and asylum seekers are overlooked.
In 2021, more than 50,000 Black immigrants were living in the Bay Area. However, according to the Black Alliance on Just Immigration, “despite only making up around seven percent of the non-citizen population, Black immigrants represent over 20 percent of those in deportation proceedings on criminal grounds."
Before even setting foot in the country, Black migrants have an especially hard time at the U.S.-Mexico border. They often encounter racism, struggle to find officers or lawyers who speak their languages, and end up hungry and desperate.
Last month, Oakland’s Priority Africa Network screened a film called "Las Abogadas," featuring women immigration lawyers who help migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. One of them is Mulu Alemayehu, an Ethiopian-American lawyer. She leads the Border Taskforce, an association of volunteers and non profits who provide legal and social services to asylum seekers.
This interview was produced by Priscilla Naa Ankrah
