The United States of America represents the dream land for many people, in terms of freedom, pursuing dreams, making money and a name for oneself. It is thus not surprising that the U.S saw huge waves of immigrants since the 60's. The severe economic difficulties, increased poverty and the political instability that have plagued many African countries in the last two decades have resulted in the large scale migration of Africans to Europe and the United States. Unlike their counterparts in the 1960s and 70s who were anxious to return home after acquiring an American education in order to contribute in the task of nation building, an overwhelming majority of recent immigrants are more interested in establishing permanent residency in the United States. Although these immigrants continue to be attracted to major cities like New York, Atlanta, Chicago and Los Angeles, they can also be found in increasing numbers in small and mid-sized cities in Ohio, Nebraska, Iowa and Maine. The influx of African immigrants to the United States in the last two decades has been phenomenal. According to figures from the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS), the number of African immigrants to the United States more than quadrupled in the last two decades; from 109,733 between 1961 and 1980 to 531,832 between 1981 and 2000.

This is the John A Roebling Suspension Bridge in Cincinnati, OH which is symbolic of what we want to provide to all struggling immigrants, especially African ones.

          The living conditions of Immmigrants are usually overlooked but represent serious matters. Despite their dedication, hard work and determination to realize the American dream, African immigrants are often faced with prejudices as they struggle to make a living in their new homeland. First, they encounter some of the same stereotypes often associated with their African American counterparts. They are often perceived as lazy, criminals, drug dealers and welfare cheats. This perception often results in police harassment, intimidation, unlawful arrests and even murder. In fact, the February 1999 killing by New York police officers of Amadou Diallo, an African immigrant from Guinea near his home in the Bronx has become a metaphor for the way African immigrants are perceived and treated by some law enforcement authorities.

       But this represents only one side of the story. The other one is that the poverty rates among Immigrants has gradually increased over the past decades. With plunging education levels, making ends meet become a colossal challenges. Thus it is not surprising that One-third of all immigrants live in families in which the head of the household lacks a high school edu­cation; and First-generation immigrants and their families, who are one-sixth of the U.S. population, comprise one-fourth of all poor persons in the U.S. Some of them are packed in apartments in order make the rent affordable. Some of them are exploited working for wages below the legal mininum because they do not possess a SSN. What raises our concern are the children of these immigrants who did not ask to become illegal alien. Now their parents are trapped by this luxirious American life that they will never live, the beautiful cars they will never drive, and that dream house they will never own. They really need help!!!  

The Big Swindle / Exploitation of African Women by African!

        There are saddening stories about Immigrants which depict their daily struggle. Having an illegal status in the US is not always the choice of the Immigrant. Some immigrants came to the U.S because of what relatives residing in the US told them. Usually, they are a couple living with children having decent salaries . In order to avoid baby sitting and housekeeping fees, they bring a family member-usually a young woman- from their homecountry. To accomplish so, they  help with the acquisition of the US Visa, promise to  legalize her status once she arrives in the US and pay for travel fares. This is a dream come true for the future immigrant but there are a lot of strings tied.

       Once she gets into the US and realizes that she is only needed for housekeeping purposes, the Immigrant starts suffering. She is intimidated by her relatives which do not allow her to emancipate. She cannot go out, work, nor have friends. Without ID, driver's license and income, the immigrant is trapped: this is modern day slavery. "You can't go out because you are illegally living here. If the police sees you, you will be deported to Africa". Every one knows being deported is humiliating.

     These people really need help because they were tricked and used by their own peers. I need a maid, so I will bring my cousin from Africa and "enslaved" her so I won't have to pay a baby sitter and nor do house cleaning. Sometimes these immigrants are physically and mentally abused. These cases are numerous and need our awareness.

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