Even though Black immigrants are less likely to be in the United States without authorization in comparison to other U.S. immigrants,35 Black immigrants face deportation at a disproportionate rate. “Jamaica was the top country of origin in 2019, with over 772,200 Black immigrants in the U.S.”36 The Black Alliance for Just Immigration estimates that twenty percent of immigrants (one in five) facing deportation before U.S. immigration courts are Black.37 This number includes both immigrants who have lawful permanent resident status and undocumented migrants. In contrast, Black undocumented migrants account for 5.6% of the total undocumented population living in the United States. 38 However, they are 10.6% of migrants in deportation proceedings. 39 Any person who is not a U.S. citizen can be deported from the United States.40 The Immigration and Nationality Act refers to all noncitizens as “aliens.” 41 Noncitizens include lawful permanent residents (Green Card holders), visa holders (migrants temporarily in the United States), and undocumented migrants (migrants in the United States without authorization).42 If a noncitizen violates the Immigration and Nationality Act, they can be placed in deportation proceedings before an immigration judge.43 There are two immigration law enforcement agencies within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS):44 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)45 and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).46 ICE focuses on policing and enforcing immigration laws inside the United States, which means the deportation of noncitizens.47 The main way ICE enforces immigration laws is through the criminal legal system.48 If a noncitizen engages in criminal conduct and is charged with a crime or convicted of a crime, after the criminal proceedings are concluded, they may be transferred into ICE custody.49 While in ICE custody, the noncitizen will be placed in deportation proceedings, where they go before an immigration judge who determines in a hearing whether they have committed a civil offense in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act requiring them to be removed from the United States.50

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