African Americans Support Immigration Reform

African American Woman, a photo by Black History Album on Flickr.

African Americans support immigration reform and an inclusive vision of America (opinion from Bernard Simelton)

Special to AL.com By Special to AL.com
on May 21, 2013 at 10:04

By Benard Simelton

Most African Americans understand why today’s immigrants immigrated to the United States: They moved here for decent jobs, housing, schools and better economic opportunities for them and their children.

Despite being the descendants of slaves who were brought to America against their will, African Americans understand immigrants’ struggle for equal treatment under the law because we too have struggled to attain equal rights that white Americans could generally take for granted. We have spent much of our history fighting for equality and justice, for the right to vote, and the right to live, eat, go to school and shop where we want.

We get the struggle of immigrants for a better life and racial equality. That’s why two-thirds of African Americans support comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship, a recent poll showed.

The undocumented, like African Americans, have made great sacrifices to attain their dream. African Americans left the South—during the last century, to pursue greater economic opportunities in the North.

Similarly, millions of immigrants left families, friends and a culture behind when they moved to the U.S.

However immigrants find, today, in places like Alabama that they are being increasingly targeted, stopped, detained and deported because Congress has not passed comprehensive immigration legislation.

With the federal government deporting 400,000 people each year, immigrant families find their American Dream turning to a nightmare as mothers and fathers are separated from their children.

These problems have been magnified by states that have passed anti-immigrant laws like Alabama’s HB 56, which allows police to stop an individual based on how they look. African Americans know that law is nothing more than an excuse for law enforcement agencies to conduct racial profiling.

Many of the supporters of laws like HB56, including Sen. Jeff Sessions, have a long history of opposing laws that would lead to a more inclusive and equitable society for people of color.

Session’s nomination to the federal bench in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan provides valuable insights into Sessions views of race.

In fact, the Senate Judiciary Committee rejected his nomination after learning of Session’s civil rights record and his past racially offensive remarks. During senate confirmation hearings, it was revealed that Sessions called the NAACP “un-American,” a statement he defended during the hearings.

Sessions also admitted calling the Voting Rights Act “a piece of intrusive legislation.”
In 1984, Sessions prosecuted three civil rights workers for voter fraud. The three workers were quickly acquitted but the case raised significant questions during those confirmation hearings about whether Sessions’ real motivation for the prosecutions was intimidating those who engaged in voter turnout efforts in black communities.

Sessions, according to testimony at that hearing, called a black assistant U.S. attorney “boy” and made jokes about the Ku Klux Klan.

It is pertinent to ask—given his civil rights record--whether the growth of the United States’ 50.5 million Latinos is a problem for Sessions.

Sessions proposed an amendment this month during the mark up phase of Senate consideration of the Senate’s bipartisan immigration reform bill that would limit future legal immigration to the U.S. Sessions is also on record backing the policy of self-deportation, which is designed to create laws and policies so hostile for undocumented people that they would voluntarily leave the country to avoid poor treatment.

His support for anti-immigrant organizations, such as the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), Numbers USA and the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), which includes quoting their work, appearing at their events and receiving awards from these organizations is well known. John Tanton who founded FAIR has warned of the “Latino onslaught” moving to the U.S. and has said that maintaining a European-American majority is necessary for the maintenance of European-American society and culture.
Fortunately, African Americans and I suspect the majority of Americans see immigrants as people coming here to simply better their lives. We do not fear immigrants or Latinos and reject the voices of exclusion that see each racial group with competing interests and at odds instead of each group working together for a better, fairer America.

Senator Sessions, it is not too late. I ask you to revisit your perspective and ask how you can best represent Alabamians of all races, creeds colors and nationalities.

Benard Simelton is president of the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP.