Immigration

African-American Virginians and immigrant Virginians face different types of law enforcement contact, but both groups are too often being “policed” rather than “protected,” and members of both communities often face far harsher punishments for the same crimes than U.S. born white Virginians.

Many immigrants and African-American Virginians have significant family caretaking responsibilities, but are less likely than others to have access to key options that would allow them to better balance work and family responsibilities.

This Saturday the national Fight for 15 movement will rally in Richmond to fight for a $15 minimum wage and “connect to the broader fight for immigrant justice, Black Lives Matter, and against racism.” This rally comes at an important time.

Too many African-American and immigrant Virginians are locked out of health insurance due to decisions by Virginia’s legislature. Virginia lawmakers have made a number of choices to limit access to health insurance, including in some cases where the federal government would cover all the cost. By not closing the health care coverage gap, policymakers have left 230,000 Virginians without insurance. On top of that, Virginia places additional barriers – above-and-beyond the five-year waiting period that federal law requires – for lawfully present immigrants before they can obtain health insurance through the state’s meager Medicaid.

Racially restrictive covenants may no longer be legal, but Virginia as a whole, and its largest metro areas, continue to have high levels of segregation. The “index of dissimilarity” is one way to measure this, examining how people are distributed across a region compared to the distribution of another group of people. Comparing where Black, Asian, and Hispanic Virginians live to where white Virginians live shows the highest levels of separation for Black Virginians. But it shows some degree of segregation for Asian and Hispanic Virginians, too. 

More than 1 of every 7 African-American Virginians and almost 1 in 5 foreign-born Virginians lack a high school diploma. With employers increasingly requiring a high school education just to get in the door, whether or not a diploma is truly required for the job duties, people who have not completed high school face significant challenges. When combined with the continued existence of employment discrimination, many adults in both African-American and immigrant communities face challenges finding jobs.

Immigrants and African-Americans in Virginia face many of the same challenges, and there are critical state policy solutions that would make a big difference to both.

In Virginia, “Main Street” businesses – the local shops and services that provide for a variety of everyday needs and that generally have a physical storefront – are cornerstones of thriving communities and immigrants play an important role in starting and maintaining these businesses.

Despite some fears and harsh rhetoric from politicians, including a raft of anti-refugee bills introduced during this last session of the General Assembly, refugees contribute to our country’s economy and make our communities stronger. Let’s not be the generation that turns our back on Lady Liberty’s promise.