Sub-Saharan African Immigrants in the United States

[rangerrebew]

Sub-Saharan African Immigrants in the United States
October 16, 2025
Spotlight
By Allison Rutland and Jeanne Batalova
 

Migration from sub-Saharan Africa to the United States has been on a significant upswing, in particular since the start of the 21st century, driven by economic opportunity, family reunification, and humanitarian protection reasons.

The first period of large-scale voluntary migration from sub-Saharan Africa began in the second half of the 20th century, after significant U.S. policy changes. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 lifted country quotas that had limited migration from non-European countries. The Refugee Act of 1980 increased admissions of people fleeing conflict, including sizable numbers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, and Eritrea. And the Immigration Act of 1990 created the Diversity Visa to bolster immigration from under-represented countries, such as Cameroon and Chad. The 1990 law also made it easier for highly skilled immigrants to come for work, opening the door to many educated workers and international students from countries including Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana.

The 2.5 million immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa in 2024 represented well more than triple the number present in 2000. Sub-Saharan Africans accounted for 5 percent of all 50.2 million U.S. immigrants in 2024. This highly diverse group is comprised of individuals from a range of ethnic, linguistic, and educational backgrounds. While rates differ among nationalities, immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa are generally more likely than the overall foreign-born population to have become U.S. citizens, be active in the U.S. labor force, have arrived since 2010, and have higher educational attainment.

https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/sub-saharan-african-immigrants-united-states-2025

[Fishrrman]

This chart says it all insofar as their future here is concerned:


If there are any in the world we don't need...

[Wingnut]

Sub Human.

[The_Reader_David]

From the article:  While rates differ among nationalities, immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa are generally more likely than the overall foreign-born population to have become U.S. citizens, be active in the U.S. labor force, have arrived since 2010, and have higher educational attainment.


Nigerian-Americans are among the most affluent groups of "hypenated Americans" at present.  We're not getting the ones from the shari'a afflicted north (or if we are it's Christians fleeing persecution), but the ones who are happy with the Anglo-Saxon common law traditions the Brits gifted them when Nigeria was a colony.  Likewise immigrants from Ghana arrive speaking English and used to the common law.  I'd rather have them than folks from Latin America or any Muslim countries.  I think I even prefer them to Europeans whose idea of good law is the Code Napoleon and EU over-regulation.  (And they really annoy the identitarian "Left" since their economic and educational success makes obvious that "systemic racism" is a lie.)

[SZonian]

I work with a guy from Burkina Faso who went to 3 years of medical school and then switched to mechanical engineering.
Has a Master's Degree and is smart as hell...I'll take one of him over 100 U.S. woke bleep.
His work ethic is above reproach.
He's not as bold in interacting with other teams, but I suspect it's due to "seniority" and the respect his culture has towards that kind of thing.
Let's be careful with the broad brush, it has a tendency to splatter on us also.