Thread: NC-Latinos also divided over immigrant rights

Latinos also divided over immigrant rights
Critics say some are asking for too much
BY FRANCO ORDOÑEZ - The Charlotte Observer
Published: Tue, Jun. 23, 2009 02:00AMModified Mon, Jun. 22, 2009 10:43PM

As the immigration debate heats up across the country, a new study shows Latinos in Charlotte-Mecklenburg are as divided over immigration reform as any other group -- and possibly more so.

The Crossroads Social Capital study, which measured social ties in the community, found almost six out of 10 Latinos (58 percent) in Charlotte-Mecklenburg feel immigrants are "too demanding in their push for equal rights."

"I'm upset at some of the demands I hear some parts of the illegal community making," said Ricardo Mata, a Venezuelan native who has lived in the country for two decades. "Sometimes, I get fed up at the double standards I see."

Ricardo Mata plays games and tells stories to children in the 'Play Spanish' class for kids at Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte. - CHARLOTTE OBSERVER PHOTO BY JAMEY PRICE
State of the debateOn Friday, President Barack Obama reiterated his support for immigration reform at a prayer breakfast with members of the Latino community. This week, he will gather with lawmakers at the White House for a working session on immigration reform. They're expected to talk about enforcement, worker verification and penalties for coming to the country illegally.

Mata, a Charlotte businessman who was not interviewed in the study, said he's frustrated by what he sees as increasing demands by some immigrants and fewer examples of how the undocumented will contribute to society if legalized. He supports legalizing some undocumented immigrants but feels less than half have demonstrated they really want to be part of America.

Critics of the study's findings say they reflect only a small segment of the community and not the majority of Latinos who do support immigration reform.

"I think the people who were surveyed were mostly established Latinos who are not having to face this issue," said Angeles Ortega-Moore, executive director of the Latin-American Coalition.

One hundred seven people who identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino participated in the Crossroads study. The full study's margin of error was plus or minus 3.24 percentage points.

While the findings don't appear to track national trends, they do seem to follow economic and generational lines. The longer and more successful Latinos have been in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, the more likely they are to think newly arrived immigrants are too pushy.

The study also shows that Latinos are not monolithic thinkers and that some disagree with parts of the immigrant rights movement.

Latinos are diverse

For most of the 20th century, there were few Latinos in Charlotte. By 1990, about 7,000 lived here.

Today, it's the fastest-growing minority community in the state. Latinos make up 10 percent of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg population, 7 percent of the state's.

Nearly half of the county's 80,000 Latinos have Mexican roots, but thousands come from all over Central and South America.

Victor Guzman, a business owner and television producer from Puerto Rico, said it's sometimes a fight to clarify that not all Latinos are from Mexico and poor.

Many are businesspeople, doctors and lawyers from Argentina, Colombia and Venezuela. Some have multiple degrees -- and money.

They are Democrats, Republicans and Independents with wide-ranging views and backgrounds.

"It's not all the same mindset," Guzman said. "It's like going to the end of Charlotte to Ballantyne and asking questions and then going to West Boulevard and asking the same questions. You're going to get different answers."

Even in one household, opinions can vary dramatically.

Maria Petrea, whose family is from Panama, doesn't think immigrants are asking too much, but her mother does.

"My mother is now 88," said Petrea, who is principal of the Collinswood Language Academy, which is 60 percent Latino. "She came to the country when she was 22. She feels immigrants are too demanding. She would tell you they need to become Americanized and at the same time value their own culture. But don't expect people everywhere to speak for them or interpret for them."

Eric Caratao, a research specialist at the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute who authored the Crossroads study, said about half of the Latinos surveyed were longtime residents.

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http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1579706.html

I still can't believe that more Latinos aren't absolutely horrified by the prospect of Amnesty, and as a result opposing Illegal Immigration with every bone in their bodies.

You know how many good, smart, fair-minded people pass a construction site loaded w/ Latinos and thinks "gee... I wonder if all those are Illegal Aliens?"

Illegal Immigration makes those who came here legally look bad. And, somehow, we've let the media convince them that that is the fault of the "evil anti-immigrant crowd" as opposed to the simple fact that Illegals are breaking our laws, crippling our economy, and decimating our social services, and that good, ordinary citizens do (and should) have a problem with that, no matter *who* it is breaking those laws.

I had an interesting chat yesterday with the former head of LULAC and he agreed with a lot of what is said by Mata

Its the RADICAL MEXICANS who believe in Aztlan and Reconqista who have absolutely highjacked the entire hispanic community in an effort to force their support or lie to America SAYING they have their support, in order to get an amnesty FOR the illegal Mexicans in this country.

The rest of the Illegals are just along for the ride. Its almost ALL Mexico, Mexicans, and their radical take-over agenda...

They have had this planned for a long time.