Thread: VA: Caucus is on the wrong side on immigration

Caucus is on the wrong side on immigration
George W. Grayson

Grayson, ofWilliamsburg, teaches at the College of William & Mary, was a civil rights activist in the 1960s, is a lifetime member of the NAACP and served 27 years in the Virginia House of Delegates.

Now that the General Assembly has acted on everything but transportation, I can only say that I am chagrined by the opposition during this year's session of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus to clamping down on illegal immigrants and the employers who hire, exploit and enslave them. Polls consistently show that average African Americans strongly favor cracking down on individuals who enter this country in violation of the law.

Their stance springs not from racism, nativism or xenophobia, but because they often find themselves vying for the same jobs that illegal workers perform for subpar pay amid dangerous working conditions. When illegal aliens gain access to universities, they are frequently taking the classroom seats that would otherwise have been filled by black or blue-collar Anglo youngsters -- not the offspring of affluent Alexandria lawyers or well-to-do Fairfax County land moguls whose connections ensure their children access to upper-tier schools.

Indifferent to the needs of rank-and-file constituents, caucus member Sen. A. Donald McEachin, D-Richmond, said: "I think they [Republicans] have put together an agenda that says we are going to beat up on illegal aliens, regardless of their status as children or adults."

True to form, all seven black House members, including caucus chair the Rev. Dwight C. Jones, D-Richmond -- now a candidate for mayor of the capital -- voted against House Bill 14 to exclude illegal aliens from the Old Dominion's public institutions of higher learning. Although approved 73 to 26 by the House of Delegates, a black-Northern Virginia coalition scuttled the measure 9 to 6 in the Senate Education Committee -- with African-American Sens. Mamie E. Locke, D-Hampton, and Louise L. Lucas, D-Portsmouth, casting decisive votes.

Similarly, soaring expenditures on English-as-a-second-language schemes drain funds that could otherwise be devoted to improving the education of at-risk African-American students. Designed to begin making amends for the heinous institution of slavery, affirmative action now applies to Hispanics who only recently came to America.

The purpose of creating majority and predominantly minority legislative districts was to amplify the voice of communities neglected by the dominance of whites in the General Assembly. Why, then, are African-American lawmakers voting against the interests of their own people?

First, "safe" seats inspire arrogance and over-confidence. In December 2007, for instance, the stalwarts in the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington cast three of the nine votes against expressing support for Christianity in general and Christmas in particular. Hardly the view of their constituents.

Second, Virginia's African-American lawmakers have bought into the Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition -- a black-brown alliance that supposedly would uplift the downtrodden, but actually has enabled Latinos to make notable strides at the expense of blacks.

Third, the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus -- like its counterpart in the U.S. Congress -- receives generous donations from the hospitality, manufacturing and agricultural sectors whose lobbyists claim that enforcing -- and fortifying -- restrictions on scofflaws would harm the state's economy. In reality, turning a blind eye to unscrupulous firms that profit from -- and grossly exploit -- illegal workers puts their legitimate competitors at a disadvantage, which hardly burnishes the state's reputation as business-friendly.

Finally, African-American legislators have embraced the political correctness -- so prevalent among Northern Virginia Democrats -- that suggests it's not really a crime to sneak across the Rio Grande or to overstay your visa and seek to melt into the shadows. Allowing lawbreakers to pick and choose the statutes they will honor is an option denied to average citizens.

"Mass illegal immigration is not a victimless crime," according to Frank Morris, the former executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and former dean of graduate studies at Morgan State University. "There are real people who lose their jobs or the chance to earn a better living. There are real children who are stuck in schools that cannot educate because they are overwhelmed by the children of illegal aliens. All too often, those victims are black," he added.
http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/commentary/wb/164849

This whole article was perfect!

Lobbyists , legal term for "Were buying you off" or "You can be had". Our government the "New" price is right .
And if that doesn't work . The Camber of Commerce is the Bully on the block . Whoa !