[ 2016-11-15 ]

Deportation fear grips Ghanaians in USA
Ghanaians, like many other immigrants in the
United States of America (USA), especially those
who have overstayed their visa as well as those
with partial documents, are apprehensive of
deportation.

Some Ghanaians with partial documents and those
who have overstayed their visas, who spoke to The
Finder on condition of anonymity, say they are
unsure of their fate under President Trump.

3 million to be deported - Trump

Their fear was justified by President-elect,
Donald Trump, when he declared yesterday that he
will deport two to three million undocumented
immigrants “immediately” upon taking office.

In his first television interview since winning
the presidential election, Mr Trump insisted that
he is going to carry out his hard line immigration
policy proposals, while maintaining that he would
build a wall between the US and Mexico.

“What we are going to do is get the people that
are criminals and have criminal records, gang
members, drug dealers, where a lot of these
people, probably two million – it could be even
three million – we are getting them out of the
country or we are going to incarcerate,” Mr
Trump told 60 Minutes.

“Be we’re getting them out of the country,
they’re here illegally.”

He explained that once the border is "secure",
then the Bureau of Immigration and Customs
Enforcement will assess the status of the
remaining undocumented immigrants in the country.


"After the border is secure and after everything
gets normalised, we’re going to make a
determination on the people that they’re talking
about who are terrific people, they’re terrific
people but we are gonna make a determination at
that," he said. "But before we make that
determination... it’s very important, we are
going to secure our border."

When asked if he actually intends to build the
wall along the southern border, Mr Trump simply
replied, "Yes."

However, Mr Trump explained that the wall along
the 1,900 mile border would probably not be as
grandiose as he promised – describing an
iteration of the boundary between the two
countries that essentially already exists.

"There could be some fencing," he said. "For
certain areas, I would [accept a fence], but
certain areas, a wall is more appropriate. I’m
very good at this, it’s called construction."

The President-elect's comments about mass
deportations stand at odds with a statement made
by Paul Ryan, the highest ranking Republican,
yesterday morning.

235,000 Ghanaians in USA

A report published in May 2015 by Migration Policy
Institute (MPI) of the USA said there are about
235,000 Ghanaians currently living in the USA.

The report was prepared for the Rockefeller
Foundation-Aspen Institute Diaspora Programme
(RAD).

Even though the report did not indicate whether
the number comprises those who have overstayed
their visas, analysts believe Ghanaians living in
the USA could exceed one million.

If previous comments are any indication, President
Trump said he plans to focus on deporting
criminals, similar to the current strategy of the
outgoing Barack Obama administration.

"On Day One, I am going to begin swiftly removing
criminal illegal immigrants from this country," he
said at Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst's Roast and Ride
event in Des Moines, saying he would not focus on
the 11 million undocumented residents who have
lived in the U.S. for a long time without any
incident.

Based on statements so far, President Trump's plan
to remove the undocumented immigrants, who have
committed crimes, is similar to what President
Obama declared in 2014.

President Obama has often been referred to by
immigration groups as the ‘Deporter in Chief’.


Obama deports more than 2.5 million people

Between 2009 and 2015, the Obama administration
removed more than 2.5 million people through
immigration orders, which doesn’t include the
number of people who "self-deported" or were
turned away and/or returned to their home country
at the border by U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP).

Obama tops deportation among all US presidents

According to governmental data, the Obama
administration has deported more people than any
other president's administration in history.

In fact, they have deported more than the sum of
all the presidents of the 20th century.

President George W. Bush's administration deported
just over two million during his time in office;
and Obama’s numbers don’t reflect his last
year in office, for which data is not yet
available.

Ghanaians in USA

The Migration Policy Institute report found that
Ghanaians live all across the USA but are heavily
concentrated in New York, Virginia, New Jersey,
and Maryland.

In 2012, Ghanaians in the USA sent home about $33
million.

According to the report, Ghanaians in the USA are
the largest source of remittances, followed by
Ghanaians in the United Kingdom, and then
Nigeria.

12% of Ghanaians in the USA hold a Master’s
degree, PhD

It revealed that about 12% of Ghanaians in the USA
hold a Master’s degree, PhD, or an advanced
professional degree.

This is slightly higher compared to 11% for the
general U.S. population. Ghanaians are well
represented in top universities across the USA, it
added.

According to the report, schools such as Cornell,
the University of Pennsylvania, and Stanford
University have groups specifically devoted to
Ghanaian students besides the more general African
and Caribbean student organisations you will find
at nearly every university.

18% hold bachelor’s degree

The Migration Policy Institute report noted that
18% of the Ghanaians in the USA hold a
bachelor’s degree as their highest credential.

$44,000 annual income

It also found that Ghanaians in the USA earn about
$44,000 a year, slightly lower than the USA
national median of $50,000.

18% of Ghanaians in the USA make $90,000 a year

The report said about 18% of Ghanaians in the USA
make $90,000 a year, and 5% of them make at least
$140,000 - which puts them in the top 10% of USA
households.

It revealed that Ghanaian born individuals account
for a small fraction of 0.3% of the US
foreign-born population.

It said majority of Ghanaian immigrants,
constituting 56%, arrived in the USA during or
after the year 2,000.

According to the report, Ghanaian immigrants in
the USA are nearly all working age people between
18 and 64 years and have a median age of 40.

It stated that 83% of the population is below 18
years.

According to the report, 40% of Ghanaian
immigrants are USA citizens. Worcester,
Massachusetts has the highest concentration of
Ghanaians in the USA, the report added.

“In Worcester, you can find several Ghanaian
churches, including the New England Ghanaian SDA
Church, the Presbyterian Church of Ghana and the
Good Shepherd Ghana Methodist Church.

“The Ghanaian community in Worcester regularly
organises social events like concerts, soccer
matches (e.g. against Togo and Zambia) and the
Annual African Festival and Picnic.

“Other states, with large numbers of Ghanaians,
include: New York, Virginia, New Jersey, and
Maryland,” it said.

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION

Who is being deported?

President Obama directed U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) to focus on criminals,
not families, during his November 2014 executive
action on immigration.

According to their website, "ICE has continued to
increase its focus on identifying, arresting, and
removing convicted criminals in prisons and jails,
and also at large arrests in the interior."

In fiscal year 2015, 91 percent of people removed
from inside the U.S. were previously convicted of
a crime.

The administration made the first priority
“threats to national security, border security,
and public safety”. That includes gang members,
convicted felons or charged with "aggravated
felony" and anyone apprehended at the border
trying to enter the country illegally.

In 2015, 81 percent, or 113,385, of the removals
were the priority one removals.

Priority two includes "misdemeanants and new
immigration violators."

That includes "aliens convicted of three or more
misdemeanor offenses, other than minor traffic"
violations, as well as those convicted of domestic
violence, sexual abuse, burglary, DUIs or drug
trafficking.

Who is not being deported?

With the focus on criminals and not families, the
administration has moved away from those living
and working in the U.S. without a criminal
history.

"Felons, not families. Criminals, not children.
Gang members, not a mum who’s working hard to
provide for her kids. We’ll prioritise, just
like law enforcement does every day," Obama said
in November 2014 when announcing his executive
action on immigration.

And while he tried to provide relief and a way
"out of the shadows" for those without criminal
histories with his immigration action, that was
eventually stricken down by the Supreme Court not
issuing a decision on the case, thereby upholding
the lower courts action.

But by refocusing on criminals most families who
are living and following the law are not targets
for deportations.

What about raids against mothers and children?

Priority three for the administration is focused
on those who have arrived after January 1, 2014.

The administration has focused on preventing
families from sending their children unaccompanied
on a dangerous trek by emphasizing they will be
returned.

Many of these unaccompanied children and mothers
with children are fleeing violence in Central
America—coming from the northern triangle of
Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, some of the
most dangerous countries in the world.

Many of the people migrating from that area to the
U.S. claim refugee status and, if they can prove
real harm will result in their being returned,
they are allowed to remain until their case is
heard.

There are critics, however, who state that many
are not getting a fair shot at claiming refugee
status and are being returned too hastily.

Source - The Finder

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