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Blacks, Asians largely absent from immigrant protests
Friday, May 05, 2006
When marchers supporting undocumented immigrants massed in front of the Federal Office Building in downtown Cleveland on Monday, the Rev. Barrett Cain positioned himself at the edge of the crowd.

He had tied a white strip of cloth around a sleeve of his gray suit - white being the color of "A Day Without Immigrants"-but that's not why he stood out. Barrett, a minister at Pilgrim Congregational Church, was the only black man on the scene.

"That's very unfortunate," he said. "Because in the '60s, when blacks marched, a lot of different people from a lot of different cultures marched with them. I'm here to show my support for all immigrants."

With its marches, boycotts and rising fervor, the call for compassionate immigration reform is drawing comparisons to the civil rights movement. But this is one movement that blacks are, so far, sitting out.

Monday's pro-immigrant rally, the largest yet in Cleveland, drew probably 300 Latinos, several dozen white marchers and a few Asians. But black faces were hard to find.

That has been the reality in other cities, too. Some observers say blacks are disinclined to support more immigration because they often must compete with immigrants for low-wage jobs.

"I think that's an overworked excuse," said Stanley Miller, executive director of the Cleveland NAACP. "I think it's a little bit of apathy."

Miller said the hottest issue in the Latino community has not yet "reached the radar screen" of black Cleve land, and he said he thinks that's a shame.

Where are the Asians?:

While Asian-Americans have a huge stake in the immigration debate, they, too, have kept their distance from the marches and rallies. Some say that's because they know a different immigrant experience.

Asians account for only 13 percent of the nation's estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants, while Latinos account for 78 percent, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.

Local Asian activists say most Asians came here legally and are most concerned about reducing visa backlogs so they can bring family. They don't see room for that view in the nascent immigrant-rights movement.

"We're immigrants, too, so we empathize with the situation" of undocumented immigrants, said Wai Wan, the past president of the Organization of Chinese Americans of Greater Cleveland. "But we don't want people to break the law to get here."

Immigration workshop:

The Organization of Chinese Americans of Greater Cleveland will host a forum Sunday to explore what immigration reform could mean to Asian-Americans. Immigration attorney Margaret Wong will explain the proposals being debated in Congress starting at 1 p.m. on the 2nd floor of Asia Plaza, 2999 Payne Ave., in new Chinatown.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

rsmith@plaind.com, 216-999-4024