By Kristi Pelzel
Just days before U.S. Election Day, the Biden-Harris Team published a plan to support the African diaspora. The plan recognizes the diversity in U.S.-based African’s socioeconomic backgrounds and examines immigration, economy, education, health care, and U.S.-African foreign policy.
The plan is not as comprehensive as some would like to think. It’s a broad sweep, recognizing this community, lacking input from the community they are trying to reach and support. However, it’s a good start.
What does the plan mean for Nigerian citizens living in the U.S.?
The plan points to a statistic that there are now 2 million first-generation Americans who are children and grandchildren of African Nationals. The Nigerian community is a large part of that statistic.
We know that around 400,000 Nigerians and their children live in the U.S., and the path to immigration has shifted over the last four years under the Trump administration. Shortly after taking office in 2017, Trump issued an executive order that banned travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations from entering the United States. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lists these countries as Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
It wasn’t until February of 2020 that six more countries were added to the list of nations that face travel restrictions to the United States. These new countries included Nigeria, Myanmar, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Sudan, Tanzania. Specifically, the ban on Nigeria was explained as a problem with the number of people traveling from Nigeria on a Visa and overstaying illegally.
Democrats had opposed the ban since its original creation and condemned its expansion. And although we can expect to see changes to these policies, it doesn’t mean underlying issues go away. The Biden and Harris Presidential Team will hopefully address the problems of illegal immigration and national security while improving the current policy.
Their current 2020 ‘Agenda for the African Diaspora’ outlines many of their immigration goals affecting African diaspora community members.
The Biden Harris plan broadly covers the economy, attempting to isolate the issues as seen from the African diaspora as part of the current state of the U.S. economy by recognizing the wealth gap. Still, it falls short of isolating how this affects the diaspora population.
Further research, as well as a comprehensive qualitative study, should be conducted.
The Biden Harris Team plans to remove barriers to fair education by supporting colleges and universities that “play unique and vital roles in their communities, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions” (2020 ‘Agenda for the African Diaspora’)
According to Africa Reporter, Yomi Kazeem, “Nigerian students studying in the United States reached $514 million, data from the Institute of International Education shows. The figure outstrips students’ economic impact from France, Germany, and the United Kingdom in the U.S.” (QuartzAfrica, 2019).
The U.S. Department of State also reported, “More than 303 Nigerian students from the 17 states of southern Nigeria have received no less than $7.5 million in full or partial scholarships from 225 American universities and colleges to study in the United States for the 2019-2020 academic session” (usembassy.gov Nigeria).
We know that education in the Nigerian community is essential. Nigerian immigrants are among the most likely immigrants to receive college degrees once they come to the U.S. An estimated 60 percent of Nigerian immigrants attain college degrees while abroad, as opposed to 33 percent of Americans living abroad. Nigerian immigrants are also much more likely to hold doctorates and master’s degrees.
The Biden Harris plan to support the African diaspora education journey will be an investment, attracting skilled and educated talent while impacting relationships abroad.
The 2020 ‘Agenda for the African Diaspora’ recognizes the African diaspora’s role in fighting against COVID-19 in the U.S. However, they group all American needs with those of the diaspora and don’t single out their unique needs.
U.S. – Africa Policy
Biden restates his commitment to Africa, reflecting on the importance of U.S.-Africa engagement within his new plan for the African diaspora community. Most importantly, noting U.S. Foreign Service should reflect African diaspora, which I took to mean they’d be allowing more input to restore better and reinvigorate Africa relations.
The plan also mentions the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), a program that started 10-years ago. YALI is a public-private partnership with USAID, and for Nigerians, their nearest Regional Leadership Center is in Ghana.
What’s missing from the plan are new programs tailored to African Youth and those specific opportunities for prioritizing high-level engagement.
It’s a great start to the next presidential term to see an outline that mentioned the African diaspora. Even though it’s not comprehensive, it tells us that it’s being considered, with potential for later development.
As we see in the data, Nigerians contribute to the U.S. education system, the skilled and talented workforce of the U.S., and now in politics. Another Nigerian-American, Nnamdi Chukwuocha, has emerged as the winner of a seat in the Delaware State House of Representatives under the Democratic Party in the 2020 U.S. General elections. He joins the list of other Nigerian-Americans like Oye Owolewa and Esther Ajayi, who has so far recorded success in the U.S. 2020 General Elections.
As more people not only speak up from the Africa diaspora but participate in U.S. politics, U.S. relationships with the African continent will hopefully become stronger as the cultures integrate to work together as a global community.
Kristi Pelzel is an international communications consultant and advisor working across U.S. and African markets. Her industry experience spans 10 in broadcast, digital, and social media communication. Kristi holds a B.A. from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco, California, and an M.A. from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
