Les immigrants noirs absent du débat national

By Charles D. Ellison for the Philadelphia Tribune

Suddenly pressed by political imperative and rapidly shifting post-election demographic winds, la Americaines. Senate “Gang of Eight” huddled intensely over the most daring attempt at comprehensive immigration reform since 2010. It was an aggressive effort, the scope of which rattled many longtime Hill observers. By week’s end, the most ardent pessimists were forced to acknowledge that a potential breakthrough could be on the horizon.

As Democrats and Republicans wrangled over the details in closed-door sessions, one calculation was clear: it was all about who could win the hearts and minds of Latino voters first. Démocrates ont besoin de ce vote pour continuer à dominer le paysage de l'élection présidentielle en espérant reprendre la Chambre au cours de mi-mandat au Congrès en 2014. Républicains, cependant, sont dans une guerre plus désespérée pour la démographique, reconnaissant qu'ils devront électeurs latinos s'ils prévoient de survivre en tant que parti politique national viable.

Mais, le grand absent du débat sur la réforme de l'immigration sont des immigrants noirs, qui représentent près de 10 pour cent des personnes nées à l'étranger aux États-Unis. Il s'agit d'une omission qui a incité beaucoup dans la communauté des immigrants noirs à crier à l'injustice, avec les autres - y compris les Afro-Américains - montrant volontaire ignorance Washington des migrants noirs comme rien de plus que de courir-de-la-usine de racisme institutionnel.

"Ils sont déjà aux prises avec suffisamment de personnes noires comme il est,", A plaisanté un collaborateur du Congrès Noir parlant de dossier à donner une évaluation franche. "Pensez-vous qu'ils veulent plus venir dans le pays?"Gestes vers une phalange d'approcher les membres du Congrès blancs marchant dans un couloir Capitol Hill.

Il ya un sentiment général parmi d'autres dans la Americaines. Diaspora africaine que les immigrants noirs sont au bas de la totem de la politique d'immigration, raison de rien de plus que la teinte foncée de leur peau. Immigrants latinos, alors que beaucoup sont illégaux, obtenir la couverture de presse de mieux, disent certains. D'autres soulignent la disparité de traitement entre les immigrants cubains soutenus politiquement et immigrants haïtiens impuissants, chacun essayant voyages dangereux à bord de la Floride.

Pourtant,, Black immigrants are the most educated compared to their Latino, Asian and European counterparts. Près 50 percent of African immigrants from places such as Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone have obtained a college degree. Seulement 43 percent of Asian immigrants have obtained a degree, and a smaller 30 percent of immigrants from Europe, Russia and Canada have done the same.

Mais, while Black immigrants maintain some of the highest higher education rates in the world, they remain invisible in the larger immigration reform debate. Lawmakers in Washington and state legislatures tend to focus on the vexing Latino problem – a natural reflex given the fact that Latinos, particularly from Mexico and Central America, make up the lion’s share of the immigrant population.

“Obviously the size of the African immigrant population is smaller, and they do not have the coordinated or aggregate political power compared to Latinos,” observes Minneapolis-based immigration lawyer and expert Paschal Nwokocha. Nwokocha, Nigerian-born but now a U.S. citoyen, expresses deep concern that the Black perspective is left out. As the former chair of the American Immigration Lawyers Association Minnesota/Dakota Chapter, he’s worked closely with legislators such as Congressional Black Caucus progressive Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) on the issue.

“This is a frustrating issue,” argues Nwokocha. “I think a lot of us are left out. And then you have others who don’t want to be identified with the immigration struggle but want to reap its benefits.”

Jeneba Ghatt, un commentateur du Washington Times et elle-même immigrante de la Sierra Leone, accepte. "Vous croyez mieux il ya des millions d'Africains et d'Antillais attendent dans les coulisses, regarder et impatient de voir la réforme globale de l'immigration déplacé parce que plus ils seront susceptibles de bénéficier ".

"La dernière fois que nous avons entendu parler de Congrès Africains était lorsque la Chambre a essayé de nix le programme de visa diversité de loterie."

Alors que le débat fait rage sur, Immigrants africains semblent beaucoup plus ouverts à un échange sur les mécanismes de débat sur la réforme tandis que les immigrants des Caraïbes semblent nettement pincé. Lorsque des tentatives ont été faites pour discuter de la question avec Rep. Donna Christensen de la Americaines. Îles Vierges - un point d'entrée majeur pour de nombreux Antillais - le bureau semblait réticent, with one staffer only commenting that the Congresswoman “was currently working on a legislative proposal.”

Sources on and off Capitol Hill also note that Black members of Congress are simply not focused on immigration as a priority, despite the fact many of them represent large pockets of Black immigrants.

While African immigrants seemed eager to discuss the issue, calls to other major Caribbean community leaders and organizations went unanswered. An active member of the West Indian community in Washington, D.C. anonymously attributed the silence to “pride.”

“Caribbean people are very proud,” explained the source, clearly perturbed by the question. “They feel that talking publicly about the issue is somewhat insulting or that it lumps them into the same category as illegal immigrants when they all worked very hard and sacrificed so much to become legal citizens.”

Garry Pierre-Pierre, Senior Editor for the Haitian Times and an active advocate within the U.S. Haitian Diaspora, observes that the Caribbean community is simply satisfied with letting the Latino community handle it. “Other immigrant advocacy groups have been working in the background with the Latino organizations,” said Pierre-Pierre. “The other groups don’t really care about being mentioned, they care about the results that are good for all immigrants seeking a path to citizenship and better working conditions.”

Source: http://politic365.com/2013/02/04/black-immigrants-absent-from-national-debate/