Illegal aliens please there is no such thing as a illegal immigrant. An Immigrant comes through customs with visa in hand and a desire to become a citizen.
Don't let them shape the argument by word usage.
MUCH has been made over Latinos surpassing African-Americans in size to become the nation's largest minority group. An impression has been created that there is a prize to be won and that Latino issues will now replace African-American issues.
Nothing could be further from the truth. African-American concerns remain very much in front of the public and many of them are the same issues that concern Latinos. This raises the probability of coalitions, but in order for coalitions to work there must be a discussion about the issues that create tension.
One of the major issues is the strain between immigrants and African-Americans. Many African-American believe that Mexican immigrants take their jobs and keep wages low. Immigrants hold more negative views about African-Americans than do U.S.-born Latinos, even though immigrants have much less contact with African-Americans. Within both groups females are more hostile than males toward the other group.
How is the issue of immigration to be addressed?
Preventing immigrants from coming over will not happen because on balance the positive contributions of immigrants, such as the creation of jobs and the expansion of the economy, far outweigh any negative effect. No less of an authority than Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has said that the economy will not grow without the presence of immigrant labor. A growing economy benefits everyone regardless of race and ethnicity. The trend is one of greater integration between Mexico and the United States -- not less. Thus the first step toward understanding is accepting the presence of Mexican immigrants as part of the American mosaic.
There should also be an understanding of where the competition between immigrants and African-American occurs in the labor market. The research shows that immigrants compete primarily with African-Americans and others who are high school dropouts, lower skilled and working in the lower echelons of the labor market. In this segment of the labor market are found low paying jobs with little advancement opportunity, few if any benefits and high rates of unemployment. These types of jobs are a permanent feature of the labor market and they existed before immigrants came and competed for the jobs -- and the jobs will be remaining if and when immigrants leave. Immigrants did not create this labor market. Nor did African-Americans. The situation is structural in nature and the question is what if anything can be done about it.
Not all African-Americans feel that immigrants take their jobs. Many identify with people who are risking their lives to flee from oppressive economic conditions to find a better life. Those who feel this way tend to be members of the middle- and professional class and it is with this segment where the potential for a coalition is currently the greatest.
Another concern is the speaking of Spanish in public places. As the size of the Latino population has grown, so has the use of the Spanish language. Many African-Americans (and others as well) feel threatened when they hear Spanish because they don't understand what is being said and believe that Spanish speakers are talking about them. Some bilingual Latinos readily admit that they switch to Spanish when they want to make comments about non-Spanish speakers who are in their presence, but for the most part they are talking about day-to-day concerns in a language in which they feel comfortable and that is the core of their culture. Also, many Latinos are monolingual Spanish speakers, cannot speak English and, given their adult status, probably never will.
The Spanish language will never replace the English language in the United States so there is nothing to fear. The English language is not going away, but neither is the Spanish language. The two languages will exist side by side and influence each other as they have for two and and a half centuries despite efforts to suppress the speaking of Spanish.
Negative feelings about the Spanish language do not define the sentiments of all African-Americans. Because of their history and day-to-day experiences, many African-Americans believe, as do many Latinos, that the criticism of the Spanish language is an attack upon a group's culture. Again, it is the middle- and professional classes that hold more favorable opinions about the speaking of Spanish.
The emphasis has been upon two issues that strain the relations between Latinos and African-Americans, but it would be fallacious to conclude that black-brown relations are on balance contentious and narrowly defined by issues emanating from immigration. Indeed, at this point the relationship is more harmonious than not and there is greater recognition of what the two populations have in common, such as the need for a quality public education, adequate and affordable health care, justice in the legal system and equal opportunity in general.
There is an ongoing dialogue between the leadership of each group. This is good because human relations are fragile and can change in an instant. During these times, dialogue and understanding become paramount.