Assessing the integration outcomes of African immigrants in the United States

The paper uses data from the American Community Survey to explore the impact of pre-departure characteristics and class of entry on the integration of Nigerian- and Somali-born immigrants into US society. It argues for scholars to reconsider the treatment of African immigrants as a collective group as this obscures differences between immigrants from different African countries and the ways they adjust to life in the US. Understanding the ways in which disadvantaged immigrant groups navigate their day-to-day lives and the social structures which they draw upon for support is flagged as a possible area of future research inquiry.