When most people talk about the issue of immigration, the focus is generally on Hispanics/Latinos.
However, thousands of Black people nationally, and in Houston specifically, are caught in the crosshairs of all the immigration horrors and challenges going on in the US currently. So, how are Black immigrants and their supporters dealing with ICE raid scares and the general threats of deportation coming out of Donald Trump’s administration?
Houston City Councilmember Tiffany Thomas recently hosted an Immigration Roundtable as part of multiple events connected to the larger U.S./Africa/Diaspora Summit.
Held at the Alief Neighborhood Center (11903 Bellaire Blvd., Houston 77072), moderator Debo Folorunsho, founder of SAiD Institute, facilitated a discussion involving panelists and event attendees. Topics included challenges faced by immigrants, personal connections to the issue of immigration and the various pathways to citizenship.
Challenges
Panelist Judge Clarease Yates spoke to the current political climate surrounding the issue.
“When we talk about your political opinion, things are getting really hot here. We’ve seen people taken off the streets, students, with people with the hoods over their faces,” said Yates, who has been on the bench for 34 years. “Kids are handcuffed because of their political opinions. That’s not something that I’ve seen here before.
“It’s usually the folks who come here asking for asylum. That happens to them there. But watch out. It’s happening here. It’s a little scary… I’ve not seen anything like this. I really haven’t.”
Yates compared the fear that many immigrants of color have to the opportunities afforded to immigrants with big money. They oftentimes possess a wealth of employable and needed skills, but lack economic wealth.
“For those of you who have big bucks, you can buy an opportunity to get yourself legalized. I understand that this administration is also talking about selling legal status,” Yates added, astonishing several attendees.
Yates said it’s important to stay abreast of new and changing information to quell fear and find ways to meet potential immigration-related challenges.
“It’s really important for you to be aware of what the (immigration) policies are and what’s going on, and aware of what you have that gives you a leg up.”
Judge Clarease Yates
Personal connection
Another panelist, Abby Kotun-Thomas, is president of the Nigerian American Multicultural Council and a labor and employment attorney who takes on immigration cases pro bono. But her connection to the issue is much more than merely professional. She knows personally that there are different immigrant experiences seeking citizenship. She and her older sister experienced much different paths.
“I am the child of immigrants. My parents came here to go to school and then they just so happened to have me here. I’m so grateful to have birthright citizenship,” said Kotun-Thomas. “[My sister] was born in Nigeria. So, her path to coming here was completely different from mine. We had to fight in the immigration system.
“So, I know what it feels like to have to deal with immigration from [the legal] side and from the community side.”
Kotun-Thomas admitted being worried about the Trump administration’s approach to immigrants and immigration as a whole. Yet, she remains hopeful.
“This is not the first time that we’ve been here. It was amazing to see during the first Trump administration, attorneys rally around, attorneys push back, attorneys maintain the rights of the individuals and that’s what legal professionals are doing right now, maintaining our democracy,” shared Kotun-Thomas.
Multiple immigration stories
Kotun-Thomas said that Houston’s Black immigrant community possesses “the whole range of immigrant situations.”
This includes people from the African diaspora who come to the U.S. to go to college and are currently on F-1 Visas. Others have graduated and want to remain, so they are seeking employment and an H-1B visa, which allows U.S. employers to temporarily hire foreign workers in specialty occupations that require a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. This visa offers a path to citizenship.
However, congressionally, there is only a set number of those distributed annually.
Still others are in Houston on an L-1 visa, which allows a foreign company to transfer employees to the U.S. to work for a parent, branch, affiliate or subsidiary of the company in a managerial, executive or specialized knowledge role.
In other words, these are highly intelligent, highly skilled individuals.
Some immigrants, unable to find an employer sponsor (H-1B visas), enter the H-1 lottery seeking a visa.
“If unsuccessful, these students or professionals have to figure out, ‘Well, how do I stay?’” Kotun-Thomas explained. “Sometimes you can go back to your home country and try to apply again next year, but nobody wants to go back because you don’t know that that door’s going to be open when you’re trying to come again.”
Citizenship pathways
Yates said there’s a citizenship pathway that often gets overlooked.
“It’s amazing to me that I’ve seen folks come into court who’ve lived here for 10 years or more with someone who’s here legally, but they don’t know that that’s an avenue right there to legalize themselves,” said Yates. “That’s called cancellation of removal. You have a cancellation of removal because you’re married to a US citizen or you may have a child who’s been here, who’s an adult now, who was born here.”
Before-the-storm strategies
For immigrants anywhere on the spectrum short of being a U.S. citizen, panelist and attorney Sharon Gray suggested acting now before being legally forced to act or leave the country.
“If you’re not in immigration court, and nothing is going wrong, now is a good time to get prepared just in case,” said Gray. “Getting prepared means getting all of your documentation together.”
Gray said things become progressively more difficult if an immigrant or his/her spouse is detained, incarcerated or sick, leaving one person, often with the children, to gather all the necessary documents to protect their status if called into immigration court.
Yates emphasized another pre-court must-do.
“Be careful about who you get to represent you. Make sure that you get recommendations for a good attorney,” said Yates. “It’s very important to know that your attorney knows what he or she should be saying or doing to get you prepared.”
Yates said such information is readily available online.
“But don’t walk in innocently and naively assuming that your attorney has done everything he or she is supposed to do for you, because sometimes the only thing they want is the money,” Yates added.
DNVIDEO: Learn legal moves to make to protect your status.
