US Expulsions of Africans Rising, But Still Less Than Other Immigrant Groups

 

The United States has expelled about 326 Somali nationals since January.

That number is greater than the total for all Somalis expelled from the country in 2016.

This is the third consecutive¹ year in which the number of Somalis deported² by the U.S. government has risen. The rising numbers have increased immigrants’ fears of raids, detentions³ and deportations.

The deportations of Somali citizens appear to be part of a larger movement, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. It found that in the first three months of 2017, the U.S. government ordered the deportation⁴ of more than 1,200 Africans. Citizens of Ghana, Nigeria, Somalia and Kenya have received the most removal orders.

Recent deportation orders are undoing⁵ a ten-year-long trend. From 2006 to 2016, the number of Africans deported every year fell from 2,100 to about 1,000. If the trend continues, four times more Africans will be deported by the end of this year than during 2016.

Sudden increases

Last week, the U.S. government expelled 67 Somali nationals. That was the third time Somalis were deported in 2017. But even with the recent increase in Somalis deported, the rate at which they are removed is still less than half the average for all immigrants.

Generally, immigrants from African countries are much less likely to be removed from the United States than other immigrant groups.

People from Africa represented less than 0.4 percent of individuals deported from the United States in 2016. That is partly because most immigrants moving to the U.S. are from non-African countries.

The Pew Research Center notes that in 2015 less than five percent of all immigrants to the U.S. were from Africa.

Compared to all nationalities, citizens of African countries are about 10 times less likely to be deported. In 2016, one of every 1,087 African immigrants was deported from the United States. That year, one of every 94 foreign citizens was removed. Those numbers come from the Pew Research Center, the Migration⁶ Policy Institute and the U.S. Census⁷ Bureau.

Last week, the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) reported that on April first 4,801 Somali nationals had received final orders of removal. The U.S. government had delayed deportations of Somalis because of a civil war in the country. But in 2012, officials decided⁸ Somalia was stable enough that Somalis in the U.S. illegally could be safely returned to their homeland.

Rejected asylum⁹ requests

Immigrants face deportation when they are found guilty of crimes. But deportations of non-criminal immigrants are more common. Some of those removed last week had asked for asylum, but were denied.

Hundreds of African refugees have been resettled in the United States this year. They include 1,679 refugees from Somalia and 334 from Sudan. Both countries are named in President Donald Trump¹⁰’s executive orders limiting travelers and immigrants from some majority-Muslim countries for 90 days. But federal judges have blocked enforcement of those orders. The Trump administration has appealed to higher courts to overrule the judges.

Words in This Story

consecutive – adj. following one after another

according – adv. as stated by or in

trend – n. a general movement or direction

stable – adj. firmly established; not changing

1 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

2 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 detentions   

拘留( detention的名词复数 )； 扣押； 监禁； 放学后留校

参考例句：

• Teachers may assign detention tasks as they wish and some detentions have been actually dangerous. 老师可能随心所欲指派关禁闭的形式，有些禁闭事实上很危险。
• Intimidation, beatings and administrative detentions are often enough to prevent them from trying again. 恐吓，拷打和行政拘留足以阻止请愿者二次进京的脚步。

4 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

5 undoing   

n.毁灭的原因，祸根；破坏，毁灭

参考例句：

• That one mistake was his undoing. 他一失足即成千古恨。
• This hard attitude may have led to his undoing. 可能就是这种强硬的态度导致了他的垮台。

6 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

7 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

10 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。