Black Scholars Speak Out
Against Immigration Reform
Coalition’s stance at odds with those of traditional civil rights groups.
By Ibram Rogers

WASHINGTON
A new coalition featuring several Black scholars has joined the immigration debate, arguing that pro-immigration reforms would have a grave impact on Black America.

The coalition, called Choose Black America, promotes a view that is very different from the more sympathetic stance of the NAACP, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and other Black leaders.

In its inaugural press conference held late last month in Washington, D.C., coalition members sharply denounced federal legislation that would create a pathway to U.S. citizenship for more than 11 million illegal immigrants.

Their chief complaint: Massive illegal immigration has economically crippled Black America, resulting in lost jobs, lower wages and fewer social services.

“Immigration policy can influence and change the fundamental character of America, and it could greatly impact those who are the most vulnerable among us,” says Dr. Frank Morris Sr., the coalition’s chairman and a former dean at the University of Maryland and Morgan State University. “Many of the most vulnerable continue to be disproportionately African-American.”

Choose Black America has placed itself at odds with several traditional civil rights organizations and Black leaders, many of whom encourage Black support of immigrant groups in their fight for immigration reform.
And while the coalition says it reflects the opinion of most Black Americans, several recent polls tell a somewhat different story.

Forty-seven percent of Blacks surveyed in an April 2006 poll by the Pew Research Center said illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in the country. The same percentage said illegal immigrants should be required to leave.

According to the same Pew Research Center poll, only 22 percent of Blacks surveyed said they or a family member have lost a job, or not gotten a job, because an employer hired an immigrant worker.
Nevertheless, coalition members say they’re convinced that illegal immigrants are taking jobs, social services and even the phrase “civil rights” away from Blacks.