African-American attitudes towards United States immigration policy

Since the 1980s, debate over immigration policy in the United States has been growing in its intensity. From positions across the political spectrum, numerous politicians, journalists, and academics have been calling for tighter control of American borders. One frequently made argument for restricting immigration is that such reform is necessary in order to protect an especially vulnerable segment of the African-American community from competition with newly arrived immigrants (for example, see Lamm and Imholf; 1985:154-155, 241; Brimelow, 1995:11; Lind, 1995:71-72, 256, 319-321; Beck, 1996; Bouvier and Grant, 1994; 19-21, 93-34; Briggs, 1994). Given the prevalence of this concern, it is somewhat surprising how little attention has been given to black's own attitudes towards immigration policy. This paper seeks to uncover these attitudes. The findings reported here reveal a largely unappreciated complexity in this aspect of African-American history and life.