Anxious and Uncertain, How Trump’s Policies are Affecting Africans at Home and Abroad

"People are anxious, people don't know what's going to come next," Solomon Elusoji, a PhD student in the U.S., tells OkayAfrica. "Yes, he [Trump] is currently talking about illegal immigrants crossing the southern border, but even people on F1 visas are not sure what's going to happen next."

In his first week in office, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a flurry of executive orders targeting a range of topics from abortion to transgender rights and, most notably, citizenship and immigration laws. The immigration section of these executive orders does not focus solely on undocumented migrants in the United States; they have also been targeting some legal entryways into the U.S., including refugee programs designed for those displaced by violence. It's a development that leaves many anxious and uncertain about their residency status, including Africans.

Jennifer Enuoma, who recently obtained an immigration visa, says that Trump’s first term put her visa application on hold when he imposed a ban on countries deemed a “terrorism risk,” which included Nigeria. “For me, there’s anxiety that he might impose a ban on Nigeria again, because if he does, it will affect me since I have applied for my family, and a ban would delay everything indefinitely,” Enuoma says.

Since the executive order, Elusoji says people in his immediate community have become more conscious of protecting their residency status even as the future remains unclear from an administration prone to unpredictable and often unconstitutional policies and declarations.

"I was speaking to a native-born Black American who's a colleague, and she's also anxious. It doesn't matter if you're on an F1 visa, have a permanent visa to be in the U.S., or even a citizen; people are uncomfortable. If you're Black, especially if you're a person of color living in the U.S., there's a lot of uncertainty that I can sense from many people, and no one knows what's going to come next," Elusoji says.

While on his campaign trail, President Trump ran on several aggressive anti-immigration and anti-environment promises, one of which included signing an executive order "declaring that children born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrants do not automatically gain U.S. citizenship," which he has done. Enuoma tells OkayAfrica that birthright citizenship is affecting Nigerians she knows who have had their children in the United States. “I know a lot of friends who are quickly applying for their children’s U.S. passports, to avoid issues.”

Many African students and residents in the United States approached for this story were mostly unwilling to go on record due to fear of retribution or jeopardizing their legal, albeit temporary, residency status. William Pugliese, an immigration attorney with the human rights agency African Services Committee in New York, has observed the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) arresting undocumented immigrants, including those from Senegal and Angola. "Temporary non-immigrant visas do not provide a pathway to remain lawfully in the United States," he says.

Halting aid

President Trump's freeze on foreign aid, widely criticized as one of his most damaging global policies, has hit thePresident's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) — a program credited with saving over 25 million lives worldwide. The freeze has forced organizations abroad to stop distributing U.S.-funded H.I.V. medications. While the State Department has issued a waiver for lifesaving medicines, uncertainty looms over PEPFAR's future and its network of clinics serving at least 220,000 H.I.V. patients.

"We are on the verge of losing a lot of progress made in regards to H.I.V. treatments and development efforts across the continent," says International Policy Advisor Yinka Seth. "It took us many years to get to a point where we have our H.I.V. numbers under control, and suddenly stopping funding means people can't get jobs, which means people can't get test kits as all of those things are subsidized through aids." This interruption could lead to new, undetected cases and unchecked virus transmission.

Seth notes that while lobbying could help tackle the issue, it doesn't include Africans. "Big Pharma in the United States are involved in the manufacturing and distribution of these drugs and are used to having this funding assured for donkey years, and I don't imagine they will go down without a fight."

However, this crisis could be a potential catalyst for change as African leaders must now confront the unreliability of foreign aid and develop local solutions. "I see an opportunity for African private philanthropy capital to invest in these areas," he says.

For fellow immigrants navigating the wave of executive orders and raids, Elusoji says it would help to "Stay away from the news cycle because there will be many stories flying here and there. Pay attention to the major things, obviously your legal status, and ensure you stay safe as much as possible."