EDITOR'S NOTE: "The Nation’s Debate Over Illegal Immigration and How it Impacts Us" is the second in BlackAmericaWeb.com's six-part State of Black America series. Coming Thursday: What the Iraq war is costing blacks.

Click here for "Part One: Race Matters – or Does It? – in Growth, Progress of Black Community."

While the Bush administration and Congress grapple with the complexities of immigration reform, the debate among blacks about Hispanic laborers has focused primarily on one emotionally-charged question: Are illegal immigrants taking jobs from black Americans?

With Hispanics now regarded as the fastest-growing ethnic group in America, immigration has become a flashpoint issue that transcends Capitol Hill. Today, the subject of illegal immigration is being debated on black radio, in barber shops and during community meetings across the country.

From Los Angeles to Louisiana, blacks are often split. Some take a hard line and even support building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border to keep illegal immigrants out of the United States, while others say blacks and Latinos should form a strategic political alliance and embrace immigration reform as a modern-day civil rights issue.

According to a recent survey of BlackAmericaWeb.com’s user audience, 45 percent said Congress should not make it easier for illegal immigrants to become U.S. citizens. Nearly 50 percent of those surveyed said illegal immigrants are placing an undue burden on America’s social services, and about 30 percent said illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from low-income blacks. 

"It’s a reality that Latinos are taking jobs, and there is a debate among African Americans," Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-MI), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

Kilpatrick said while Latinos are accepting jobs in the areas of housekeeping and minimum-wage jobs at restaurants and construction jobs, she supports those immigrants who are in America legally.

"I support a plan for everyone to be here legally, pay taxes and become citizens," Kilpatrick said in an interview. "But if not, they should return to their home country."

How Congress will ultimately resolve the issue of illegal immigration is anyone’s guess. "This is not a quick fix," the congresswoman said.

The issue has intensified for many Americans in places like California, Texas, Florida and New York, where Hispanic residents are rapidly becoming the majority in many neighborhoods. In Dallas, for example, a Dallas-based pizza chain has been flooded with hate e-mails after starting a controversial program to accept Mexican pesos.

"This is the United States of America, not the United States of Mexico," one e-mail read. "Quit catering to the damn illegal Mexicans," another e-mail stated.

Hilary Shelton, the Washington, D.C. bureau chief for the NAACP, said the issue of Hispanic workers and jobs must be explained in the proper context. 

CHECK THE STATS: Scroll down to the bottom of this page to read the results of BlackAmericaWeb.com's poll on immigration.

"Let’s put this into perspective," Shelton told BlackAmericaWeb.com. "The discussion is about low-paying jobs. These are not big-career positions. We’re talking about minimum wage jobs -- and in some cases sub-minimum wage jobs -- that don’t offer health insurance. The people who benefit most from undocumented members of our community are the employers."

Peter C. Groff, publisher of Blackpolicy.org and executive director of the Center for African American Policy at the University of Denver, said the immigration reform debate is complex.

"This is a rather tough issue from an African-American standpoint," Groff told BlackAmericaWeb.com. "On the one hand, there is this history of sacrifice that we share with major immigrant groups in the United States. So, on many levels, we have these indisputable social & cultural bonds, particularly with Latinos, Africans and West Indians."

"And then, on the other hand," Groff said, "there is this festering dilemma of competition for jobs, affordable housing and other resources -- this notion that 'they' are taking jobs from 'us.' That’s a troubling notion for black people, considering we’ve been here longer and fought so many years to attain higher levels of wealth, professional development and education. So, the interesting question is this: Why would we want the low-end, entry level, manual labor jobs typically secured by non-English speaking and mostly Latino immigrants?"

PODCAST: Senior Correspondent Michael Cottman
talks with Peter Groff about the impact of illegal immigration on black America. 

As the debate about immigration heats up this year, Earl Ofari Hutchinson, a political analyst and syndicated columnist, said there is an important connection between immigration reform and civil rights.

"Last spring, immigration rights groups loudly demanded that civil right groups take part in immigration rights marches and endorse immigration reform bills in Congress," Hutchinson wrote in a recent column. "They branded the immigration battle the new civil rights movement, and insisted that if Martin Luther King, Jr. were alive he would have backed up their claim."

"It’s risky to say what King would have done on that score," he said. "Yet it’s almost certain that given King’s passionate support of the mostly Latino led and targeted farm workers movement in California, and his glowing praise of farm worker leader Cesar Chavez, he would have regarded the immigration reform fight as a bonafide civil rights battle."

While Congress works on immigration legislation, some black Americans are also asking exactly how many illegal immigrants are living in the United States. Depending on the source, the numbers range from about 7 million up to 20 million or more.

"Nailing down such figures is impossible," according to The Christian Science Monitor. "Even settling on a ballpark figure is difficult, given the official sources: the US Census, apprehensions along the US-Mexico border and social service agencies. For one thing, illegal immigrants avoid responding to census questionnaires, states a 2005 report by Bear Stearns Asset Management Inc. in New York."

A number of black professionals told BlackAmericaWeb.com privately they are becoming impatient with undocumented immigrants putting a strain on health care services, schools and after-care programs.

Healthcare for illegal immigrants between the ages of 18 and 64 cost American taxpayers $1.1 billion in 2000 -- or about $11 per household -- according to a recent released by the Rand Corp . The study put the cost in Los Angeles County at $204 million, according to The Los Angeles Times.

"They should build that wall," said one black corporate professional from Los Angeles, referring to a call by some congressional leaders to construct a 700-mile wall along the U.S.-Mexico border to keep illegal immigrants out of the United States.

But Groff told BlackAmericaWeb.com that blacks and Latinos should find common ground and consider working together.

"We should be forming coalitions that focus on a wide array of similar socio-economic and political issues," Groff said. "Forming black-brown coalitions as a way to counter unreasonable anti-immigrant sentiments should be a top priority."

"Rapid Latino population grown is both real and inevitable as they are now the largest minority group in the United States," he said. "As the African-American population in the U.S. steadily decreases, we have to evaluate what may happen in the next 20 years as more Latinos register to vote and are elected to office. We then have to consider partnerships as a way to offset diminished numbers and political power."

"We’ll also have to face the prevalence of Latino anti-Black racism by finding ways to counter it," Groff added. "That said, the moral conflict posed here is that African-Americans should be the last people on Earth jumping on an anti-immigrant bandwagon."

Supporters of overhauling immigration rules began a congressional push to give temporary legal status to up to 1.5 million illegal immigrant workers to provide a labor pool for U.S. agriculture.

The proposal is a recycled version of parts of a bill that stalled after passing the Senate last year. House Republicans blocked negotiations on the measure, sticking with a get-tough stand against illegal immigrants before the November elections.

Those wanting to liberalize immigration laws hope the combination of a Democratic majority in Congress, support from President Bush and a perceived backlash against anti-immigration rhetoric in the elections will help power the comprehensive immigration proposals.

Under the bill, illegal immigrants who can show they have labored in agriculture for at least 150 work days for the past two years would become eligible for a "blue card" bestowing temporary legal status. Their spouses and minor children also could get a blue card if they already live in the U.S.

People with these cards who work an additional three years, at least 150 days a year, or five years, at least 100 days a year, would be eligible for legal residency. But they first would have to pay a $500 fine, be up to date on taxes, have no record of committing crimes involving bodily injury or threat of serious bodily injury or have caused property damage of more than $500.

The blue card program would end after five years, unless it is renewed. The bill would reduce the time it takes to get a visa for an immigrant who wants to come to the U.S. to work in agriculture.

Congress has altered immigration rules to give temporary legal status to up to 1.5 million illegal immigrant workers to provide a labor pool for U.S. agriculture. Some hope a Democratic majority in Congress will help strengthen the comprehensive immigration proposals.

The legislation requires illegal immigrants who can show they have labored in agriculture for at least 150 work days for the past two years would become eligible for a "blue card" temporary legal status.

The blue card program would end after five years, unless it is renewed. The bill would reduce the time it takes to get a visa for an immigrant who wants to come to the U.S. to work in agriculture.

Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), who has sponsored an immigration bill in Congress and whose Houston district includes a large number of Hispanic immigrants, said she is disappointed that congressional leaders have not supported fair immigration legislation.

"My bill attempted to craft this as a civil rights issue, and that is, to give a sense of fairness to individuals who had been in this country and had worked and paid taxes and wanted to come from under the shadows," Jackson-Lee told Democracy Now. "We looked at this in a holistic viewpoint that, in fact, if you identify the undocumented individuals, they become investors in this society."

According to the BlackAmericaWeb.com survey, 51 percent of respondents said immigration reform is an effort for big business to import cheap labor, and nearly 40 percent of blacks surveyed said Congress should make tightening U.S. borders a top priority in 2007.

"With our communities having the highest unemployment rate," Jackson-Lee said, "with the administration and this Congress being very unconcerned about the plight of African-American males and the plight of poor quality schools, yes, I can sympathize and empathize with the African-American community about what they perceive to be a population group that takes jobs."

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Associated Press contributed to this story.

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IMMIGRATION Poll Results

We asked BAW's user family the following questions, and their subsequent responses are noted.

What do you believe is driving the debate on U.S. immigration policy?

Draining of local and state resources: 29 percent
Racism: 27 percent
Loss of jobs to non-US citizens: 25 percent
Homeland security concerns: 18 percent
Currying of Latino vote for 2008 presidential election: 14 percent
Political pressure from Latino groups: 10 percent
Compassion for those fleeing poor or politically oppressive countries: 4 percent
None of the above: 6 percent

Who would benefit most from policies that tighten U.S. borders?

The United States: 45 percent
The Republican Party: 13 percent
Black Americans: 11 percent
American industries that hire cheap labor: 5 percent
Mexico: 2 percent
Mexican-Americans, Latinos: 2 percent
The Democratic Party: 2 percent
African, Caribbean, Haitian immigrants: 2 percent
None of the above: 29 percent

Who would benefit most from a more pro-immigration policy?

American industries that hire cheap labor: 43 percent
Mexican-Americans, Latinos: 24 percent
Mexico: 21 percent
The United States: 18 percent
The Republican Party: 7 percent
African, Caribbean, Haitian immigrants: 4 percent
The Democratic Party: 3 percent
Black Americans: 2 percent
None of the above: 7 percent

Illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from low-income blacks.

Agree: 28 percent
Slightly agree: 28 percent
Not sure: 8 percent
Slightly disagree: 17 percent
Disagree: 19 percent

Illegal immigrants are placing an undue burden on America's local economies and institutions (schools, hospitals, courts, etc.).

Agree: 49 percent
Slightly agree: 26 percent
Not sure: 9 percent
slightly disagree: 7 percent
Disagree: 9 percent

Immigration reform is an effort for big business to import cheap labor.

Agree: 51 percent
Slightly agree: 26 percent
Not sure: 12 percent
Slightly disagree: 5 percent
Disagree: 5 percent

Illegal immigrants are doing jobs that blacks and other Americans won't do.

Agree: 31 percent
Slightly agree: 21 percent
Not sure: 7 percent
Slightly disagree: 13 percent
Disagree: 23 percent

The pro-immigrant agenda does not serve the black community.

Agree: 44 percent
Slightly agree: 21 percent
Not sure: 23 percent
Slightly disagree: 8 percent
Disagree: 5 percent

Tension in my community between blacks and the growing illegal immigrant community is increasing.

Agree: 15 percent
Slightly agree: 17 percent
Not sure: 28 percent
Slightly disagree: 14 percent
Disagree: 25 percent

Congress should make tightening U.S. borders a top priority in 2007.

Agree: 39 percent
Slightly agree: 24 percent
Not sure: 14 percent
Slightly disagree: 11 percent
Disagree: 12 percent

Congress should make it easier for illegal immigrants to become U.S. citizens.

Agree: 9 percent
Slightly agree: 14 percent
Not sure: 12 percent
Slightly disagree: 19 percent
Disagree: 45 percent

Changes in America's immigration policies will improve the plight of immigrants from Africa and the diaspora.

Agree: 14 percent
Slightly agree: 16 percent
Not sure: 31 percent
Slightly disagree: 13 percent
Disagree: 26 percent

People of color ultimately have the same concerns and agendas, so the black community benefits as immigrant rights expand.

Agree: 12 percent
Slightly disagree: 18 percent
Not sure: 20 percent
Slightly disagree: 18 percent
Disagree: 31 percent

The concerns raised by illegal immigration are minor compared to the benefits we gain as a nation.

Agree: 11 percent
Slightly agree: 13 percent
Not sure: 26 percent
Slightly disagree: 19 percent
Disagree: 31 percent

Illegal immigration is a moral issue, not a political or economic one.

Agree: 8 percent
Silghtly agree: 9 percent
Not sure: 12 percent
Slightly disagree: 20 percent
Disagree: 52 percent