According to a new survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, black immigration trends are on the rise, and black immigrants are expected to become one of the fastest-growing demographics in key areas of the U.S.
The Washington Post and Breitbart News Network both note that 3.8 million black immigrants residing in the U.S. currently make up 8.7% of the total black population in the U.S.; by 2060, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, black immigrants are expected to comprise more than 16% of the country’s total black population.
The majority of American citizens with black heritage, according to the Post, can trace their heritage back to African ancestors who were brought into the country during the 1700s and early 1800s in the transatlantic slave trade. Although Africans didn’t make up a significant portion of the 30 million immigrants who came to the U.S. between 1870 and 1930, African migrants began traveling to the U.S. in earnest after the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 was passed.
The trend has continued to play a large role in the overall influx of migrants, and the population of black immigrants from Africa rose by 137% between 2000 and 2013.
Current immigration trends, however, suggest that the majority of new black immigrants will be coming from countries in the Caribbean. The Pew Research Report claims that the majority of black immigrants now come from Jamaica (18%) and Haiti (15%).
The report also noted that the new wave of black immigrants differs from the previous generation of African immigrants in more than just heritage; current trends suggest that “new” black immigrants tend to be older and are more likely to live above the poverty line, compared to other foreign-born immigrants in the U.S. In fact, although black immigrants in the U.S. overall are less likely to earn college degrees compared to U.S.-born citizens, the percentage of African-born black immigrants with college degrees is actually higher than the percentage of all U.S.-born citizens with college degrees.
Certain cities are naturally more likely to feel the effects of more immigration, as the report also found that black immigrant communities have begun springing up in concentrated areas, such as in Washington, D.C. and Miami.