September 6, 2007
For Immediate Release
Contact: Barbara Bramwell
323-296-6331
Jan 13, 2009 -- /prbuzz/ -- Author and political analyst Earl Ofari Hutchinson says that Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s recent state of the union address to the Mexican people in which he made a spirited and tough call for the U.S. to back off from its tough new sanctions on employers that hire illegal immigrants will cause even more tensions with African community leaders and workers. “There is a deep feeling among many African-Americans that illegal immigrants take jobs from black workers,” says Hutchinson, “This has created tensions and resentments among many blacks.”
Black anti-immigration protestors have staged marches, demonstrations and protests in recent months to protest unchecked illegal immigration. This has also stirred fears and hostility among many blacks against illegal immigrants. Hutchinson notes that the evidence is conflicting whether illegal immigrants take jobs from poor blacks, and how many jobs, if any, are affected. But the facts, no matter, how inconclusive on the issue, are meaningless to many blacks. The perception is that illegal immigrants do take thousands of jobs from blacks. In his forthcoming book, The Latino Challenge to Black America, Hutchinson cites a Pew Survey in April 2006 in which more black than white families said a relative didn’t get a job because the employer hired an immigrant worker.
Hutchinson says, Calderon’s bold declaration that Mexicans have a right to come to the U.S., and that the U.S. should back off from its crackdown on workplace checks and enforcement won’t help matters. This will only create more unease among blacks.
Hutchinson warns in his forthcoming The Latino Challenge to Black America that illegal immigration will continue to arouse passions and fears among many African-Americans in the future. Calderon’s statements only add more fuel to the fire.
Interview Earl Ofari Hutchinson 323-296-6331
http://www.political-press-release.com/