Divide and Conquer: Blacks, Latinos in anti-immigrant groups oppose amnesty

By: EDWARD SIFUENTES - Staff Writer | Saturday, May 27, 2006 7:40 PM PDT ∞

Call it wedge politics or call it supporting alternative voices, a new group of black Americans opposed to amnesty for illegal immigrants is rubbing old wounds in the sometimes uneasy relationship between Latinos and blacks.

The group, called Choose Black America, announced its opposition to amnesty last week. Members said legalizing 12 million illegal immigrants would hurt the black community, particularly the segment still struggling in poverty and starving for education.

But other leaders in the community say anti-illegal immigrant zealots are trying to agitate old tensions in the two communities to advance their agenda. The members of the Choose Black America are "pawns" in their efforts, critics say.

The group, which includes black educators, activists and clergy, says it wants to break some people's notion that their community is monolithically behind helping illegal immigrants, most of whom are Latinos. In fact, many blacks oppose illegal immigration and support strict reform measures, members of the group said, citing polls and studies.

"Mass illegal immigration has been a major impediment to black advancement in this country over the past 25 years," said Frank Morris, former dean of graduate studies and research at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Md., and chairman of the group.

Other black leaders say the group raises legitimate concerns, but they worry about its ties to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, an organization seeking to curb immigration. Some consider the federation, which helped build the group and is acting as its publicist, radical.

Ron Wilkins, professor in the department of Africana Studies at Cal State Dominguez Hills, recently wrote an article about the need for better collaboration between the black and Latino communities and a better understanding of their shared history. He criticized Choose Black America, saying many in the group are relatively unknown in the black community.

"The problem is I don't know many of these people," Wilkins said. "I'm sure they are willing pawns in an effort to drive a wedge between us."

Federation spokesman Ira Mehlman said his organization is simply responding to requests from both Latinos and blacks who say their points of view were not represented by political and community leaders. The federation recently helped form a group of Latinos, called You Don't Speak for Me, who are opposed to amnesty.

"We were getting a lot of calls from both Hispanics and African-Americans who felt that they wanted to organize," Mehlman said.

Choose Black America includes James Clingman, founder of the Greater Cincinnati African-American Chamber of Commerce; Ted Hayes, an advocate for the homeless in Los Angeles; Terry Anderson, host of the Terry Anderson Show, a syndicated weekly radio show; and Angelita Herron, a Los Angeles activist who helped organize counter rallies to the recent pro-immigrant marches.

They point to recent studies released by the Center for Immigration Studies, a research organization that advocates lower levels of immigration. A center study released in March counters the claims President George Bush has made recently that immigrants take the jobs Americans don't want.

"There is some direct evidence that immigration has harmed less-educated natives," according to the study. "States with the largest increase in immigrants also saw larger declines in natives working, and in occupational categories that received the most new immigrants, native unemployment averages 10 percent."

Christian Ramirez, a San Diego immigrant rights advocate with a Quaker group called the American Friends Service Committee, said there are well-founded concerns about unemployment and other issues in both communities, but he said the federation is only a friend of convenience when it comes to opposing amnesty.

"The fact that this coalition was formed by FAIR is a shock to us," Ramirez said. "It's alarming because FAIR has not been a friend to the African-American community. I think they are playing not only on the fears of Americans but on the fears of African-Americans."

The federation, which is widely known for its work on immigration, has not previously taken up causes on behalf of the black community.

Ramirez said both the Latino and black communities should address social problems in a spirit of cooperation. Blaming illegal immigrants for social ills is not helpful, he said.

Members of Choose Black America said in a press conference last week that their message was about economics. But a statement released by the group's chairman appears to play on common fears about illegal

immigration.

"All Americans are harmed by rampant illegal immigration, but it is blacks, in particular, who have lost economic opportunities, watched their kids' schools flood with non-English-speaking students, and felt the direct impact in countless ways," Morris said in the statement.

He added: "Our government has failed us, our elected officials have failed us, and now they are prepared to compound the damage with an amnesty and guest-worker program that will set black Americans back a hundred years."

You Don't Speak for Me, the group of Latinos opposed to amnesty, has issued similar statements. The Federation helped You Don't Speak for Me organize to provide a platform for Latinos to voice their opposition to amnesty.

Claudia Spencer, an immigrant from Mexico, criticized pro-immigrant rallies May 1 as "extremely disgusting." She said marchers offended her because she came to the country legally.

"These people have been telling us for a long time they hate to be treated like criminals," Spencer told Fox News. "What they are doing today, throughout the whole country, is behaving just like that. We feel really, really offended ... they are hurting everything in the United States, including us, the legal Latinos."

While divisions over illegal immigration within and among the two communities are evident, both Wilkins and Ramirez say their communities have a history of cooperation on major issues such as civil rights, fighting poverty and access to education.

Preston Griggs, president of the Black Student Union at MiraCosta College, agreed.

"If you can divide, you can conquer," Griggs said. "The need for jobs has been there and it's not getting any better. And it's not because of immigrants."

Contact staff writer Edward Sifuentes at (760) 740-3511 or esifuentes@nctimes.com.