The GABA Foundation · An African Research Institute
The Black diaspora is reshaping America. Michigan can't afford to miss it.
A data portrait of Black immigrants, refugees, and the wider diaspora, nationally and here at home. Our research decides where we intervene: legal navigation, economic mobility, and civic participation.
01 · The National Picture
One of the fastest-growing communities in the country.
Black immigrants are projected to drive roughly a third of the U.S. Black population's growth through 2060, and Africa is now the largest source.3
Black immigrants in the U.S.
Africa's share of Black immigrants
African-born Black immigrants grew from about 600K (2000) to 2.4M (2024). The Caribbean, led by Jamaica and Haiti, remains a close second.1,4,6
Black immigrants by U.S. region
The Midwest holds just 12%, so communities like ours are under-studied compared with New York, D.C., Houston, or Atlanta.6
Sub-Saharan diasporas in the U.S.
Born in the country or reporting ancestry, 2023. The full sub-Saharan diaspora totals about 4.8M.2
02 · Assets
Highly educated. Hard-working. Committed to citizenship.
Sub-Saharan African immigrants outperform both immigrants overall and U.S.-born residents on core measures of integration.2
| Measure, 2024 | Sub-Saharan African | All immigrants | U.S.-born |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher (25+) | 46% | — | — |
| Labor force participation | 77% | 68% | 63% |
| Working age (18–64) | 80% | 76% | 58% |
| Naturalized U.S. citizens | 60% | 51% | n/a |
| Speak English less than "very well" | 26% | 47% | n/a |
| Uninsured | 14% | 18% | — |
Migration Policy Institute tabulation of the 2024 ACS. 67% of Nigerian immigrants hold a college degree.2
03 · The Paradox
Credentials don't automatically become security.
The most educated immigrant group in the country still faces higher poverty than U.S.-born Americans. That gap points to under-employment, unrecognized foreign credentials, discrimination at the intersection of race and status, and uneven access to legal help.
Median household income ranges from $120,800 (South African) to $46,800 (Somali), versus $81,400 for U.S.-born households.2
Enforcement also falls hardest on our communities. The most-cited national analysis found Black immigrants were about 7% of non-citizens but roughly 20% of those facing deportation on criminal grounds, a disparity tied to over-policing.8 That benchmark is a decade old. No one has updated it. That is a research gap.
04 · Michigan
Immigrants are Michigan's growth strategy.
Michigan has spent decades fighting population loss. Immigrants are the biggest reason the state is growing at all, yet its Black immigrant communities remain nearly invisible in the data.
By region of birth
MPI state profile, latest ACS. Caribbean-born Michiganders are not broken out in the published profile.12
A community hidden in plain sight
- Detroit is 75.3% Black but only 6.6% foreign-born, versus 14.1% nationally. Black immigrants here are spread across suburbs and smaller cities, not one enclave.14
- Michigan holds about 1% of the nation's Black immigrants, so national surveys rarely produce reliable Michigan estimates.4
- The Democratic Republic of Congo has been a top source of refugees resettled in Michigan, about 30% of approved arrivals heading into 2024.15
The Opening
There is no public profile of Black immigrants in Michigan. We're building it.
No one has published county-level numbers on Black immigrants and refugees in Michigan: their legal needs, business ownership, credentials, or civic participation. With a coalition across 12 counties, GABA is positioned to produce that data and put it to work.
05 · What Changed in 2025–26
A wave of policy shocks aimed at our communities.
In under eighteen months, legal pathways for African and Caribbean nationals narrowed sharply. Families who were lawfully present now face losing work authorization and status.
Every TPS termination turns working, tax-paying residents into people at risk of losing jobs, licenses, and housing overnight. Demand for screening for other relief spikes immediately, and Midwestern Black immigrant communities have the fewest culturally competent resources to absorb it.
Refugee resettlement largely halted. A 2026 restart was reported at about 7,500 slots.2
First travel ban covers 19 countries, eight in sub-Saharan Africa.2
TPS for Cameroon ends. Litigation continues.16
Travel ban expands to 39 countries. Nigeria, the largest African diaspora in the U.S., falls under partial restrictions, including student and immigrant visas.17
TPS terminated for Haiti (Jul 27), South Sudan (Aug 7), Somalia (Aug 14), and Ethiopia (Aug 18). Haiti's alone affects an estimated 350,000 people.18,20
Sudan's TPS scheduled to end.19
06 · The Funding Gap
The fastest-growing immigrant group gets the smallest slice.
of foundation funding for the pro-immigrant movement
Small grants, outsized reach
Pro-immigrant organizing and advocacy receives only about half a percent of all philanthropic dollars, and Black-led migrant groups get a fraction of that.11
An investment in a Black-led, community-rooted research institute in Michigan reaches people national groups don't, and closes a documented equity gap.
07 · Our Research Agenda
Research first. Then we move.
Our findings decide our interventions: GABA Access, GABAWorks, and Democracy & Civic Engagement. Here is what we're positioned to study next.
Black Immigrants in Michigan: A Baseline
The first county-level profile of African, Caribbean, and Afro-Latino Michiganders: population, legal needs, income, credentials, and language access, combining Census microdata with our own community survey.
TPS & Travel Ban Impact Tracker
Documenting how the 2025–26 terminations affect Michigan families, including jobs at risk and who may qualify for other relief, to steer GABA Access: Immigration Navigation.
Credentials-to-Careers
Why does a 46% college-degree rate still produce above-average poverty? Mapping under-employment and licensing barriers for diaspora professionals to shape GABAWorks.
The Diaspora Economy in Michigan
Quantifying taxes paid, spending power, and business ownership among Black immigrants in Michigan.
Civic Participation Across the Diaspora
Using GABAGives outreach data to understand participation and barriers among Black voters across the diaspora, building capacity toward 2028.
Invest in the Evidence
Fund the research. Move the community.
Your support funds the research that tells us where help is needed most, and the programs that deliver it across Michigan.
Sources & Methodology
Where these numbers come from.
Figures come from published analyses of federal data, primarily the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. "Black immigrants" means foreign-born people who identify as Black; "sub-Saharan African immigrants" includes all races born in that region. Years vary by source and are noted.
- Pew Research Center, Key findings about Black immigrants in the U.S. (2026). Link
- Migration Policy Institute, Sub-Saharan African Immigrants in the United States (2025). Link
- Pew Research Center, One-in-Ten Black People Living in the U.S. Are Immigrants (2022). Link
- Migration Policy Institute, A Profile of the Growing Black Immigrant Population (2020–24 ACS). Link
- FWD.us, Black immigrants make the U.S. stronger (2024 ACS). Link
- Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, summary of Pew 2026 findings. Link
- Amsterdam News, coverage of Pew 2026 findings. Link
- Black Alliance for Just Immigration & NYU Law, The State of Black Immigrants (2016). Link
- American Immigration Council & Michigan Global Talent Coalition, Contributions of New Americans in Michigan (2024). Link
- NIWAP, American University, Michigan demographics citing MPI 2024 data. Link
- National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, Black migrant funding analysis (2022). Link · Link
- Migration Policy Institute, State Immigration Data Profile: Michigan. Link
- Brookings Institution, Michigan's Black-majority places (2022 ACS). Link
- U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, Detroit city (ACS 2020–24). Link
- WWMT / Samaritas, Michigan refugee arrivals (Dec 2023). Link
- ASAP, Temporary Protected Status Updates (Oct 2026). Link
- Congressional Research Service, Expanded Travel Ban (2026). Link
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Temporary Protected Status. Link
- WithinNigeria, TPS ends for four African countries (Aug 2026). Link
- GovtSchemes, TPS Terminations 2026 tracker. Link