Inside the heartbreaking conversations undocumented parents are having with their children

When the final news broke on February 10 that immigration officials had conducted nationwide raids, the images in the news focused on Latinx immigrants. But there was little coverage on the concerns being discussed in the black undocumented community.

Fusion brought a black undocumented mother and daughter together to discuss the uncertainty they’re living in since President Donald Trump took office. The family requested anonymity because they wanted to remain private.

About 575,000 black immigrants were living in the U.S. without authorization in 2012, according to Pew Research Center estimates. Black immigrants make up about 5% of the estimated 11.1 undocumented immigrants living in the United States.

The issues black immigrants face parallel those of black Americans. Since black people are far more likely than any other population to be arrested, convicted, and imprisoned in the U.S., this leads to black immigrants being more likely to be detained for criminal convictions than the immigrant population overall, according to the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, a national black immigrant rights group.

And because of the way many local enforcement agencies collaborate with immigration officials, deportations disproportionately hit black immigrants.

Black immigrants are more likely than non-black immigrants to be deported due to a criminal conviction.