Frustrated by lack of opportunity and the stagnant U.S. economy, many immigrants from Africa who were attracted by the American Dream are turning around and going home.

 

No statistics are available revealing how many of the nearly one million African immigrants in the U.S. today are returning to their home countries. But those running African community associations in New York, Atlanta and Boston say they are aware of large numbers of expatriates who have left America or are planning to do so soon.

 

Approximately 130,000 Africans migrate legally annually to the U.S., with the majority coming from Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Egypt, Somalia, and South Africa. Many settle in large metropolitan areas such as Washington, DC, New York, Atlanta and Minneapolis. They are more likely to be college-educated than native-born U.S. citizens, but because of the economic downturn, they have trouble finding work.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

African Migrants Abandon the American Dream (by Leslie Goffe, BBC Focus on Africa Magazine)

African Immigration to the United States (Wikipedia)