we were a country.” 23 The end of the quota system in 1965 “dramatically altered the racial and ethnic makeup of the United States,” advancing the country closer to a multi-racial democracy.24 Anti-Black Racism and Immigration Laws In 2016, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign strategy included racist language, such as referring to Mexican immigrants as “criminals” and “rapists.”25 During his first term, he crudely referred to Haiti and El Salvador as “shithole” countries from which the United States should limit migration.26 He also issued three versions of the “Muslim ban,”27 also known as the “African Muslim ban,”28 which barred migrants from countries with majorityMuslim populations from entering the United States. 29 Who is a “Black Immigrant”? It is difficult to categorize a person as a “Black immigrant” without oversimplifying the diverse identities of people of African descent from all around the world.30 Black immigrants come from different countries, have different cultures, and speak different languages and dialects. The Pew Research Center notes that for census years 1980 and 1990, Black immigrants were defined as “persons born outside the U.S., Puerto Rico, or other U.S. territories whose sole self-identified race is Black, regardless of Hispanic origin.”31 It is important to understand who Black immigrants are because when they enter the United States, they become primarily identified by their race—Blackness.32 The Pew Research Center estimated that there were 4.6 million Black immigrants living in the United States in 2019,33 representing ten percent of all Black people in the United States. 34