Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau (the most recent 2017 American Community Survey [ACS] as well as pooled 201317 ACS data) and the Department of Homeland Securitys Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, this Spotlight provides information on the Caribbean population in the United States, focusing on its size, geographic distribution, and socioeconomic characteristics. Available online. [16], In 2014, the median Jamaican immigrant yearly income was $51,000 with a 13% poverty rate. Notes: Family-sponsored preference: Includes adult children and siblings of U.S. citizens as well as spouses and children of green-card holders. Caribbean immigrants perform better than the general immigrant population in terms of high school graduation rates. [25] Some academics and experts claim Garvey "helped paved the way" for the American civil rights movement.[26]. 
Click here for demographic profiles of the unauthorized immigrant population in the United States at national, state, and top county levels. Large numbers of Jamaicans were recruited to work in Panama and Costa Rica in the 1850s. Immigrants from Trinidad and Tobago were most likely to be employed in management, business, science, and arts occupations (37 percent); while those from Haiti (38 percent) and the Dominican Republic (34 percent) were the mostly like to be in service occupations. Figure 3. Note: Socioeconomic characteristics (based on ACS data) are available only for immigrants from the Caribbean overall and those from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago due to sample size considerations.
[23][24] Marcus Garvey became one of the most influential activists during the 1920s and 30s and it was Garvey's ideas that had a profound influence on the views of American civil rights leader, Martin Luther King. The law states that 55,000 diversity visas in total are to be made available each fiscal year. The U.S. Census Bureau defines theforeign bornas individuals who had no U.S. citizenship at birth. Top Concentrations of Caribbean Immigrants by Metropolitan Area, 2013-17. No data are available for Anguilla, Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, the former country of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Montserrat, Bonaire, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Turks and Caicos Islands.Source: MPI tabulations of data from the World Bank Prospects Group, Annual Remittances Data, December 2018 update. 
Accessed February 1, 2019. Source: MPI tabulation of data from the U.S. Census Bureau pooled 201317 ACS. Source: Migration Policy Institute (MPI) tabulation of data from the U.S. Census Bureau 2017 American Community Survey (ACS). Use our interactive maps, with the latest available data, to learn where immigrant populations, by country or region of birth, live in the United Statesat state, county, and metro levels. There have also been many Jamaican-American NBA players including Patrick Ewing, Ben Gordon, Andre Drummond, Roy Hibbert, Andrew Kennedy, and Omari Johnson. Want to learn more about immigrants to the United States from Mexico, India, Canada, or many other countries? [17], In 2017, 24% of Jamaican immigrants had a bachelor's degree. Data table, August 31, 2018. The system was used in the maintenance of the United States Government's Hubble Space Telescope. Annual Remittance Flows to Caribbean, 1970-2018. From 2000, the population increased 26 percent, to 3.7 million, in 2010, and grew another 18 percent, to 4.4 million, in 2017. Figure 4. 1275 K St. NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20005 ph. Because so many have assimilated into the black community, it is difficult to estimate their number. Many cultural events in Jamaica are also observed by Jamaican Americans in local public celebrations or in the privacy of their homes. Depending on the origin country and period of arrival, immigrants from the Caribbean have varying skill levels, racial composition, language background, and motivations for migration. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau. Caribbean Immigrants in the United States. According to the Migration Policy Institute, Jamaican immigrants to the United States consistently compose of a high share of skilled professionals. Caribbean immigrants were slightly more likely to have public health insurance coverage (40 percent) and less likely to have private coverage than the overall foreign-born population, with 52 percent of Caribbean immigrants having private insurance (see Figure 8). At General Electric, he designed and tested a variety of spacecraft for both commercial and military applications. Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens: Includes spouses, minor children, and parents of U.S. citizens. The economic attractiveness and general Jamaican perception of the U.S. as a land of opportunity explain continued migration flows despite economic downturn in America. Smaller numbers are in Charlotte, Houston, Chicago and Los Angeles. Two populations from the Caribbean in the past received special treatment under U.S. immigration law. In 2017, 16 percent of Caribbean immigrants were uninsured, versus 20 percent of all immigrants and 7 percent of the native born (see Figure 8). 2018. In 2019, 30% of Jamaican Americans had a bachelor's degree. Source: MPI tabulation of data from the U.S. Census Bureau 2017 ACS. As with many other sources of Caribbean immigration, the geographical nearness of Jamaica to the U.S. increased the likelihood of migration. Immigrant Population by State and County", "Caribbean Immigrants in the United States", "Caribbean-Americans: An Invisible Minority Seeking Identity And Affirmation", "Hip hop is born at a birthday party in the Bronx", "DJ Kool Herc Wants Jamaica to Reclaim Hip-Hop", "Ferdinand Christopher Smith (1893-1961) ", "The Most Dangerous Black Man in the Atlantic World? U.S.
Some Haitian immigrants who have been in the United States since a massive 2010 earthquake devastated Haiti were granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to remain in the United States. Even though Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen announced the termination of TPS for Haitians in July 2019, citing improved livelihood in Haiti, the decision was enjoined by a U.S. district court pending the outcome of the legal challenge. South Florida is home to the highest number of undocumented Jamaicans, whereas most documented immigrants tend to reside in Brooklyn. Discussed are examples of their impressions and/or influences. Jamaican Americans have one of the highest rates of homeownership among Latin American and Caribbean immigrants in the US.[19]. Several Jamaican-Americans, including Jeff Cunningham, Robin Fraser, and Mark Chung have played for the United States national soccer team. Figure 6. Jamaican Americans also listen to a great variety of other music such as: jazz, calypso, soca, rap, classical music, gospel and "high-church" choirs. Today, Cubans who attempt to enter the United States via land without a visa are considered inadmissible and are subject to deportation. 
In New York City, Jamaican Americans participate in the Caribbean Labor day parade in Brooklyn annually and dress in lavish and colorful costumes during the Brooklyn celebration along Eastern Parkway. 2017 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics.
Together, these counties account for about 41 percent of the Caribbean immigrant population in the United States. In 2017, about 59 percent of Caribbean immigrants were naturalized citizens, compared to 49 percent of the total foreign-born population. [16] By 2019, the figure had reduced to just 0.9% of Jamaicans who were LEP (U.S. Census Bureau 2019). 81, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, February 2006), available online. Caribbean immigrants were more likely to gain green cards as refugees or asylees (32 percent) compared to the overall LPR population (13 percent; see Figure 7), as a result of the large number of Cuban nationals who have adjusted their status under the fast-track process set by the CAA. Migration Information Source, July 6, 2017. Jamaican Americans had a poverty rate of 11.2%, lower than the American average of 12% (U.S. Census Bureau 2019). Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), 8,140 unauthorized Caribbean immigrants were active participants of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides temporary deportation relief and work authorization. Interested in the top immigrant populations in your state or metro area? Available online. [32][33] The Ramphal Simulator is used in the training of many cardiothoracic surgery residents in the United States. Not shown are the populations in Alaska and Hawaii, which are small in size.Source: MPI tabulation of data from U.S. Census Bureau pooled 201317 ACS. and lived in the United States. Braithwaite's common data format and translators from Boeing were subsequently used as the basis for developing the IGES protocol. Immigrants from Trinidad and Tobago (70 percent) and Jamaica (68 percent) had the highest naturalization rates, while those from the Dominican Republic (52 percent) were the least likely to be naturalized. Figure 2. Spotlights from MPI's online journal, the Migration Information Source, use the latest data to provide information on size, geographic distribution, and socioeconomic characteristics of particular immigrant groups, including English proficiency,educational and professional attainment, income and poverty, health coverage, and remittances. In 2019, the median age of Jamaican Americans was 37 years old (U.S. Census Bureau 2019). 
[35][36] He also invented a protective enclosure for use transporting orbital replacement units (orus). Note: The 2018 figure represents World Bank estimates. Note: Pooled 201317 ACS data were used to get statistically valid estimates at the metropolitan statistical-area level for smaller-population geographies. He has designed numerous highly complex engineering systems that successfully flew on board NASA's Manned Space Flight Programs. Jamaicans in the Miami metropolitan area mostly live in Broward County and Jamaicans in New York City have formed communities in Brooklyn, The Bronx and Queens. Braithwaite also made a significant contribution to the development of the Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES). Major sending countries of Caribbean unauthorized immigrants included the Dominican Republic (139,000), Jamaica (92,000), Haiti (57,000), and Trinidad and Tobago (29,000). The first wave of large-scale voluntary migration from the Caribbean to the United States began in the first half of the 20th century and consisted mostly of laborers, including guest workers from the British West Indies program who worked in U.S. agriculture in the mid-1940s, as well as political exiles from Cuba. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, there were 965,355 Jamaican Americans. (See note below Figure 9 for data limitations.). About 66 percent of the Caribbean and overall immigrant populations ages 16 and over were in the civilian labor force in 2017, compared to 62 percent of the native born. Employed Workers in the Civilian Labor Force (ages 16 and older) by Occupation and Origin, 2017. 202-266-1900, IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS ARTICLE, CONTACT US AT, National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, Latin America & Caribbean Migration Portal, Illegal Immigration & Interior Enforcement, From Fear to Solidarity: The Difficulty in Shifting Public Narratives about Refugees, Visit the MPI Data Hub collection of interactive remittances tools, Dominican Immigrants in the United States, Rebuilding Self and Country: Deportee Reintegration in Jamaica, Cuban Migration: A Postrevolution Exodus Ebbs and Flows, United States Abandons its Harder Line on Haitian Migrants in the Face of Latest Natural Disaster, Normalization of Relations with Cuba May Portend Changes to U.S. Immigration Policy, Select Diaspora Populations in the United States, A Demographic Profile of Black Caribbean Immigrants in the United States. Jamaicans refer to Miami metropolitan area and Brooklyn colloquially as "Kingston 21" and "Little Jamaica" respectively. Jamaicans comprise the largest nationality of U.S. immigrants from the English-speaking Caribbean. Individuals born in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Haiti, and several United Kingdom dependent territories in the Caribbean (Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, and Turks and Caicos Islands) are not eligible for the DV 2020 lottery.Source: MPI tabulation of data from Department of Homeland Security (DHS), 2017 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics (Washington, DC: DHS Office of Immigration Statistics, 2018), available online. Caribbean immigrants are more likely to be proficient in English compared to the general immigrant population. There are also others such as "dub poetry" or chanted verses, Ska and Rocksteady, with its emotionally charged, celebrative beat. There are also communities of Jamaican Americans residing in Connecticut, Georgia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts, and California.[2]. With the notable exception of Jamaica, all major Caribbean nations were under direct U.S. political control at some point, which has created incentives and opportunities for the nationals of these islands to migrate to the United States. [27], Yvette Francis-McBarnette was a pioneering paediatrician who was the first to use prophylactic antibiotics in the treatment of children with sickle cell. Immigrants from Trinidad and Tobago (27 percent) and Jamaica (24 percent) had the highest share of college graduates, while one-third (33 percent) of immigrants from the Dominican Republic did not graduate from high school. These policies led to large increases in the U.S. Cuban population. [15] Jamaicans specifically, 32-37% seek management, business, science, and arts positions. The 10 U.S. states with the largest Jamaican populations in 2019 are: The top 10 U.S. metropolitan areas with the largest populations of Jamaicans (Source: 2019 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates)[10][11], The top 25 U.S. communities with the highest percentage of people claiming Jamaican ancestry are:[12], Top 50 U.S. communities with the most residents born in Jamaica are:[13], Total immigrant population from Jamaica according to ACS 2015-2019 estimates: 741,400; the top counties were:[14], 1) Broward County, Florida ------------------- 86,600, 2) Brooklyn Borough, New York ----------- 62,200, 3) Bronx Borough, New York ---------------- 49,400, 4) Queens Borough, New York ------------- 49,000, 5) Palm Beach County, Florida ------------- 26,900, 6) Miami-Dade County, Florida ------------- 23,400, 7) Westchester County, New York ------- 18,200, 8) Hartford County, Connecticut ---------- 17,100, 9) Orange County, Florida -------------------- 16,900, 10) Nassau County, New York -------------- 16,600, 11) Essex County, New Jersey ------------- 12,500, 12) Fairfield County, Connecticut --------- 12,100, 13) Prince George's Co., Maryland ------- 11,100, 14) Philadelphia County, Penn. Accessed February 1, 2019. At the same time, political instability in Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic propelled emigration of the members of the elite and skilled professionals. 2018.
Notable Jamaican-American NFL football players includes Patrick Chung, Atari Bigby, Nevin Lawson, Orlando Franklin, Kenrick Ellis, Ryan McBean and Laken Tomlinson. Click here for an interactive chart showing changes in the number of immigrants from the Caribbean in the United States over time. Miami-Dade County in Florida was home to 862,000 Caribbean immigrants, the highest among all U.S. counties, followed by much smaller numbers in Kings County (291,000) and Bronx County (277,000) in New York, and Broward County (265,000) in Florida. Working Paper No.
After slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865, American planters imported temporary workers, called "swallow migrants", to harvest crops on an annual basis. Caribbean immigrants participate in the labor force at the same rate as the overall foreign-born population. Gibson, Campbell J. and Emily Lennon. The Caribbean diaspora in the United States is comprised of almost 8 million individuals who were either born in a Caribbean island nation or reported ancestry of a given country in the Caribbean, according to tabulations from the U.S. Census Bureaus 2017 ACS. Available online. This is higher than the American average of 24.3% (U.S. Census Bureau 2019). Available online.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In contrast, skilled professionals have consistently constituted a relatively high share of Jamaican immigrants to the United States. Note: Limited English proficiency refers to those who indicated on the ACS questionnaire that they spoke English less than very well.. Between SYs 2016-17 and 2017-18, the number of Caribbean students in the United States decreased slightly from 11,400 to 11,300.
Cuban Migration: A Postrevolution Exodus Ebbs and Flows. On average, household incomes of Caribbean immigrants are lower than the overall foreign- and native-born populations. Available online. United Nations Population Division. The United States is by far the top destination for Caribbean emigrants outside of the region, followed by Canada (405,000), Spain (294,000), and the United Kingdom (232,000), according to mid-2017 estimates by the United Nations Population Division. Data collection constraints do not permit inclusion of those who gained citizenship of a Caribbean island nation via naturalization and later moved to the United States. Households headed by immigrants from Trinidad and Tobago ($61,300) had the highest median incomes, and Cuban ($41,800) and Dominican ($41,200) households had the lowest median incomes. "Remote acculturation: The 'Americanization' of Jamaican islanders. ---.
Click on the bullet points below for more information: In the 201317 period, the majority of immigrants from the Caribbean lived in Florida (41 percent) or New York (26 percent). "Fade to black." This article uses the U.S. Census Bureaus definition of the Caribbean region, whichincludes Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, the former country of Guadeloupe (including St. Barthlemy and Saint-Martin), Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, the former country of the Netherlands Antilles (including Bonaire, Curaao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten), St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos Islands. Traditionally, America has experienced increased migration through means of family preference, in which U.S. citizens sponsor their immediate family. Figure 5. [6] This represents 61% of the approximate 911,000 Americans of Jamaican ancestry. George Headley, who was born in Panama in 1909, transported to Cuba, grew up in Jamaica. The termsforeign bornandimmigrantare used interchangeably and refer to those who were born in another country and later emigrated to the United States. 202-266-1900. Acosta, Yesenia and Patricia de la Cruz. Select individual Caribbean countries from the dropdown menu. The growth rate declined gradually afterwards. Note: Pooled 201317 ACS data were used to get statistically valid estimates at the state level for smaller-population geographies. This was higher than the Caribbean average of 21% (compared to 31% in the general immigrant population).[16]. Caribbean immigrants were slightly more likely to be proficient in English than the overall foreign-born population. [44], U.S. states with large Jamaican populations, U.S. metropolitan areas with largest Jamaican populations, U.S. communities with high percentages of people of Jamaican ancestry, U.S. communities with the most residents born in Jamaica, N. Samuel Murell, "Jamaican Americans." Annual Remittances Data, December 2018 update. "Jamaican Americans." The largest proportions of Jamaican Americans live in South Florida and New York City, both of which have been home to large Jamaican communities since the 1950s and 60s. history. [30][31], Paul S Ramphal is Adjunct Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of North Carolina and inventor of the (Ramphal) Cardiac Surgery Simulator. IPUMS USA: Version 8.0 [dataset]. The 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act (CAA) and the 1994 and 1995 U.S.-Cuba Migration Accords set the groundwork for what eventually became known as the wet-foot, dry-foot policy, which provided a pathway to legal permanent residency after one year of residence for Cubans who reached the United States via land, with or without a valid visa. Merlene Ottey won the 200 and the 4 100 meters relay. On average, Caribbean immigrants are older than the overall foreign-born population. Table 1. Jie Zong is a consultant and former Associate Policy Analyst at MPI. According to August 2018 data from U.S. 2018. Jamaican immigrants utilized employment opportunities despite the discriminatory policies that affected some Caribbean migrs.[5]. In recent years, many Jamaicans have left New York City for its suburbs, and large Jamaican communities have also formed in many other major cities like Philadelphia (including Delaware and other parts of eastern Pennsylvania), Baltimore, Washington D.C./Central Maryland, Atlanta, Boston, Western NY State (Buffalo and Rochester) and Cleveland. [20][21] Other famous rappers and DJ's such as Busta Rhymes, The Notorious B.I.G., Special Ed, Pete Rock, Canibus, Heavy D, Joey Bada$$, Slick Rick, and Bushwick Bill are all of Jamaican heritage.