2A
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NEWSAEde thatUnt
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Skilled immigrants pose
more immediate threat
Continued from page 1A
don’t need to worry about competition fix>m
Mexico, but fixim other coimtries.
“It’s mudi more dramatic at the higb- wages,”
he said. “These are the jobs that are going to
India and Pakistan.”
Legislation recently passed by the Senate
wotdd set up a guest worker program, primar
ily for Hispanics, and allow a pathway to citi
zenship for illegal immigrants already living
and working in the U.S. A stronger, more puni
tive bill passed earher by the House would
declare undocumented workers felons and
speed their return to their homeland.
Emotions run high on both sides and the immi
gration debate and it is not yet clear whetha-
the House and Senate can reach a compromise
acceptable to both chambers.
National opinion polls show that while
African-Americans are generally supportive of
undocumented workers, they worry about the
possibility of losing jobs.
Recent data finm the Department of Labor
shows tiiat despite the creation of 138,000 new
jobs in April, the overall black un^ployment
rate is 9.4 percent, well above the national
imemployment rate of 4.7 percent.
One newly-created group. Choose Black
America, believes that imlawful immigration
can exacerbate that gap.
“This is not an argument with Hispanics. I
don’t care who it is. If you have 12 million any
bodies coming in, it’s going to come out of my
pocket,” says a manber of the group, Kevin
Fobbs, president of the Nation Urban Policy
Action Council in Detroit. “It’s not a radical
idea to stand up for protecting your children or
protecting your community,” he said. “It’s not
beir^ racist. It’s not beit^ politically incorrect.
It’s being American.”
Although Fobbs views illegal immigrants as
taking frxan the federal treasury and not giving
anything back, the Urban Institute released a
study that Found the opposite. In addition to
undocumented workers paying sales tax for
items they purchase, the Social Security
Camp honors athlete’s memory
Continued from page 1A
strated during his lifetime,”
said Pam Brown, Juhan’s
mother.
A ceremony will be held at
Revolution Park Friday at 11
a.m. - Julian’s 15th birthday
Juhan, a freshman at
Myers Park High School who
played for Charlotte United
Futbol Club, was killed April
25, 2004, in a bus accident in
France. Julian, a midfielder,
was fatally injured when the
birs carrying the under-14
North Carolina Olympic
Development team crashed
in Paris. He was a straight-A
student at Myers Park.
The camp is the latest
memorial to Julian. A soccer
tournament has been played
the last couple of years in
Charlotte.
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Even a modest life
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For Class of ‘06 and parents,
graduation is start of new life
Administration estimates tiiat three-fourths of
imdocumented workai's pay payroll taxes and
contribute $6 to $7 bUlion into a Social Security
Systran they are barred from enjoying.
Bernard Anderson, an economist and profes
sor at the Wharton School of the University of
Pennsylvania, said blaming the hi^ black
unemployment on immigrant workers is
unfair.
“Thrar (immigrant) presraice in the American
labor market has not had a major detrimental
effect on the w^es and employment of African-
American workers,” Anderson said.
According to Anderson,' there isn’t any statis
tical evidence to back up the talk of immi
grants “stealing” jobs fix)m bladss.
“Most of it is based on observation and anec
dotes. It’s not based on systematic research,”
he said. ‘Either black workers have left the
labor market altogether or black workers have
moved on to other jobs that pay more or pay
the same.”
A 2004 study by George J. Boijas, a Harvard
University professor of Economics and Social
Policy presents a contrary picture.
“Although the 1980-2000 immigrant influx
lowered the wage of white workers by 3.5 per
cent and of Asians by only 3.1 percent, it
reduced the wage of blacks by 4.5 percent and
that of Hispanics by 5.0 percent. The adverse
impact of immigration, therefore, is largest for
the most disadvantaged native-bom minori
ties,” the study said.
Claud Andeison, president of the Harvest
Institute a Washington, D.C. based black think
tank, is deeply concerned about the issue.
“As a direct result of massive immigration,
the last 50 years totally eradicated progress
blacks made in income,” he said.
According to the Census Bureau, between
1967 and 1990, there was a 12 percent increase
in the black median family income. Over that
same period, black income relatively to white
wages remained unchanged. The Bmeau
reports that median black family household
income of $30,134 was the lowest of aU.
Continued from page 1A
said Tiracy Y. Espy PhD,, vice
president of servant leadra*-
ship and a sociology professor
at Pfeiffer University’s
Charlotte campus.
“While high school can pro
vide opportunities for inde-
•pendence, students usually
find in their first semestra-
that they have much more
independence and control of
th^ time,” she said. “This
new-found freedom can pre
sent an array of concerns if
students are not disciplined
and organized. They can find
themselves having a difficult
time determining how much
and how often they should
study and prepare for classes.
Students can also strug^e
with transition to college
socially”
West Charlotte Hi^ School
graduate Karol Holt will be
attending North Carolina
Central University in
Durham. She admits to some
unease about her first
extended separation from
fiiraids and family
“It’s going to be hard
because I don’t know what to
expect,” she said. “I am basi
cally walking into an
unknown territory I am not
goir^ to be sure what to do
and what not to do.
“Attending Upward Bound (a
college expraience program)
will give me a little insist on
what to e:q>ect as far as man
aging school, my time, and
social skills ”
Holt plans to major in biolo
gy wants to become a pedia
trician.
Phjdlis Worth Dawkins will
have to make adjustments,
too. Her daughter, Demi, is
off to Ohio State University
in Columbus, Ohio. Dawkins
believes Demi, a South
MecMenbuig High graduate.
will do just fine academically
and socially despite being
hundreds of miles away Any
concerns about separation
anxiety will give way to
preparation to move to anoth
er stage in hfe.
“I’m just so proud of her,”
said Dawkins, a dean at
Johnson C. Smitii University
“It shows Demi’s indepen
dence, and her courage to
leave North Carolina.”
For students making the
leap to living on their own,
tile most pressing concern in
most cases is being on their
own for the first time, Espy
said. Other issues that may
occur can be adjustir^ to a
roommate and negotiating
living values in a small space
with someone new
College freshmen “may
struggle with finding and
connecting to a group of other
students with similar inter
ests and values,” Espy said.
“While these may be a few of
the issues in transitioning to
college, colleges and universi
ties generally have resources
to assist students in succeed
ing in making transitions.”
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NORTH CAROLINA YOUTH SOCCER
Julian Brown, a freshman at Myers Park High School, was
one of two American soccer players killed in a 2004 crash in
Paris. A soccer camp named in Julian’s honor was held this
week at Revolution Park.
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