The Ohio Immigrant Alliance (OHIA) released the first two products from an 18-month research project helmed by Nana Afua Y. Brantuo, PhD, about racism and other injustices Black migrants navigate in U.S. immigration courts.

“Dystopia, Then Deportation: Post-Event Insights and Action Items” summarizes the smart, justice-oriented, and creative thinking done at an event co-hosted by OHIA, the Mauritanian Network for Human Rights in US, and Cameroon Advocacy Network about Black immigrants’ experiences in immigration court, detention, and the asylum process. Following testimony from Black migrants who have been through these experiences, and other leaders, experts lead strategy sessions on equitable funding, ethical research, language access, and legal representation that unearthed exciting, actionable recommendations. These “mark a starting point for further dialogue and collaborative solution development work ahead—creatively moving from dystopia toward justice,” according to the report. Recommendations and insights are available at http://bit.ly/DystopiaFinal.

“Diaspora Dynamics: An Annotated Bibliography of Black Migrants’ and Immigrants’ Experiences in the U.S.” is a directory of more than 80 studies, reports, and analyses about Black migrants’ demographic traits; advancement; experiences with racism, immigration law and policy; housing, health, and language access; and more, spanning 99 years. It was created to help policymakers, scholars, and members of the media find accurate information about Black migrants’ experiences. Download the resource at http://bit.ly/3vpxKzp.

The existence of this annotated bibliography is also meant to challenge governments, researchers, philanthropy, the media, and society to emphasize, prioritize, and systematize ethical data collection about Black immigrants.

Said Dr. Nana Afua Y. Brantuo, “The particular type of violence navigated as a Black immigrant researcher in the U.S. can truly be breathtaking. From the denial of the historical presence of our community, to the questioning of our contemporary presence and ‘contributions,’ to the otherization and invisibilization across demographic surveys and statistics, there is a constant demand for us to prove our existence and humanity—without consideration of how methodological and epistemological approaches, as well as non-Black professionals and practitioners (past to present), have consistently failed us across fields and disciplines.”

“Dystopia, Then Deportation” and “Diaspora Dynamics” are the first pieces to be shared publicly as part of a 18-month research project helmed by Dr. Nana Afua Y. Brantuo and sponsored by the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, investigating the prevalence of racism in immigration court. In the coming weeks, additional parts of this research will be shared with the public. The complete report, “Behind Closed Doors: Black Migrants and the Hidden Injustices of U.S. Immigrant Courts,” will be published in March 2024. Follow the project at illusionofjustice.org.

”Diaspora Dynamics,” the annotated bibliography, is available at bit.ly/3vpxKzp. The report generated from “Dystopia, Then Deportation” can be read at bit.ly/DystopiaFinal.

Download a copy of “Broken Hope: Deportation and the Road Home,” another recent publication from OHIA and Suma Setty at the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), at bit.ly/ReadBrokenHope. Read about it in the Columbus Dispatch.