The Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) is a left-of-center advocacy organization that focuses on racial and immigration policy issues. The organization was founded in 2006 to mobilize African-American activists on behalf of liberal expansionist immigration issues. The organization provides training and mobilization assistance to a variety of left leaning organizations and operates a flagship program titled the Black Immigration Network (BIN). The organization also operates state chapters in California, Arizona, New York, and Georgia. ¹

Background

The Black Alliance for Just Immigration was founded in 2006 in response to national debate around illegal immigration at the time and several bills related to immigration in the U.S. Congress. The organization initially consisted of activists in the Oakland and San Francisco Bay area including Kevin Sauls and Philip Lawson, a founder of the California Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights. The organization also notes that it grew out of another activist group called the Priority Africa Network, a community organizing group that put together gatherings titled the Africa Diaspora Dialogues, which brought together African Americans and black immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean to talk about political and cultural issues. ²

The executive director of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration is Nana Gyamfi. Gyamfi is an attorney in the progressive movement and been involved in many far-left organizations in California, including serving as executive director of Black Women’s Forum, which was co-founded by U.S. Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA). Gyamfi a co-founder of the groups Justice Warriors 4 Black Lives and Human Rights Advocacy. ³

Political Activity

Nana Gyamfi, executive director of Black Alliance for Just Immigration, participated in a discussion on approaches to expand immigration and provide legal status to illegal immigrants at the 2019 House Democrats Issues Conference that took place in Washington, D.C. and Leesburg, Virginia in April 2019. Gyamfi was joined by John Yang, president of Asian Americans Advancing Justice; Mary Small, policy director of Detention Watch Network; and Fernando Garcia, executive director of Border Network for Human Rights. ⁴

Current programs operated by the Black Alliance for Just Immigration Include state committees that train left-leaning activists in New York, Georgia, California, and Arizona. The organization also operates the Black Immigration Network, a national campaign focused on supporting left-leaning immigration policies on the federal level. ⁵

Other projects include the Communications and Media Education on Race in America (CAMERA) program, which disperses media contacts supportive of the organization’s expansionist immigration policy agenda; the Faith Advocacy for Immigrants and Refugees (FAIR) project, which provides activism training to churches and mosques in African-American and immigrant communities; and the State of Black Immigrants Research Institute, which publishes research and fact sheets supportive of the organization’s expansionist immigration-policy agenda. ⁶

Funding

Black Alliance for Just Immigration receives funding from major left-progressive grantmakers including Borealis Philanthropy,⁷ the California Endowment,⁸ the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund,⁹ the NoVo Foundation,¹⁰ and W.K. Kellogg Foundation¹¹ as well as labor unions including the AFL-CIO, SEIU, and SEIU United Healthcare Workers West. ¹²

1. “Who We Are.” Black Alliance for Just Immigration. Accessed July 29, 2020. http://baji.org/who-we-are/
2. “Who We Are.” Black Alliance for Just Immigration. Accessed July 29, 2020. http://baji.org/who-we-are/
3. “Legislative Policy Conference Speakers: Nana Gyamfi.” National Urban League. Accessed July 29, 2020. https://nul.org/basic-page/nana-gyamfi
4. ”2019 Issues Conference (Brochure).” House Democrats. Accessed July 29, 2020. Available: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2019/04/2019-Issues-Conference-Agenda-House-Democrats.pdf
5. “Black Alliance for Just Immigration.” Philanthropy News Digest. February 6, 2018. Accessed July 29, 2020. https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/npo-spotlight/black-alliance-for-just-immigration
6. “Black Alliance for Just Immigration.” Philanthropy News Digest. February 6, 2018. Accessed July 29, 2020. https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/npo-spotlight/black-alliance-for-just-immigration
7. Borealis Philanthropy, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2018, Schedule I
8. California Endowment, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2016, Part XV Line 3
9. Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2018, Part XV Line 3
10. NoVo Foundation, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2018, Part XV Line 3
11. W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2017, Part XV Line 3
12. Data compiled from Labor Organization Annual Reports filed with the Department of Labor Office of Labor Management Standards. Queries conducted August 11, 2020.