The 'Choose Black America' Anti-Immigration Ploy: Is Ted Hayes the New Ward Connerly?

from The Los Angeles Sentinel, "The Voice of Our Community Speaking for Itself"

Jun 27, 2007 at 05:13 PM

Illegal immigration reform is a salient issue in America today. Particularly among the Republicans who consider this issue “a border crisis.” Congress’ effort to legislate a solution was met with a last minute Republican filibuster stalled a viable solution to addressing the 12 million resident aliens in the country, a measured naturalization process for those who qualified. It was said that it was too much like amnesty. But now the Republicans have pulled out their latest secret weapon, former homeless advocate now Black Republican, Ted Hayes. Hayes, who came to the nation’s attention as a homeless advocate in the 1990s, has abandoned the homeless movement that has taken on a disproportionately African American hue (at a time when Los Angeles is the homeless capital of the nation) for a new “Black movement.” Illegal immigration. Hayes, the only homeless advocate I ever knew to have Laker floor seats, and the only one to take homeless people on a field hockey trip to Europe, never engaged in anything “Black” when he was a homeless advocate. But now he wants to be the African American voice standing arm and arm with the Minutemen movement, border patrol civilians who take it as their civil right to defend their property. Here’s a man who claims to have no property, representing (or used to represent) property-less people, suddenly looking to protect the rights of property owners and national citizenship. What’s wrong with this picture?

continued (and well worth the read)