The Lives & Possibilities of African Asylum Seekers in New York City

• In Event: Beyond Asylum and Resettlement: Diverse Modes of Refugee Migration

Abstract

Migration scholarship is often state-centric, failing to holistically capture the experiences of those migrating. This study addresses this gap by arguing for the analytical necessity of de-centering national borders and adopting a human-centric approach that traces the migratory arc from the home country through the journey to the destination. We frame movement as a product of imperial, colonial and post-colonial extractions that shape both immigrant resources and the racialized institutions they eventually confront. To explore these dynamics, we conducted thirty interviews with African asylum-seekers from nations like Sudan, Morocco and Guinea who arrived in New York City between 2022 and 2024. We also conducted two years of ethnographic observations at an African-serving migration and mutual aid organization in Harlem.
Findings reveal that asylum seekers’ experiences in the U.S. are inextricably linked to home country experiences and the injuries of journeys across armed borders. African asylum-seekers utilize multi-continental routes through Turkey, Spain, and Central America and often harrowing conditions, such as riding the “La Bestia” train through Mexico. Upon arrival, they encounter institutional exclusion that includes a lack of legal representation, anti-Black racism and abuse in detention centers where Black migrants are disproportionately represented in abuse reports, and a deeply politicized asylum system that is significantly less likely to deem Black migrants’ claims credible. Findings also highlight how migrants mobilize social networks, traveling in groups for protection, relying on mutual aid organizations and religious associations to find housing and legal support. Ultimately, the research illuminates how displacement is lived and negotiated through both the injuries of the journey and the racialized carceral systems of the destination.

Authors

• Dialika Sall, CUNY-Lehman College

• Heba Gowayed, CUNY-Hunter College

• Ethan Mayer-Rich, CUNY-Graduate Center

• Sauda Muhammad, CUNY-Graduate Center