For those who follow the immigration (legal and illegal) debate, it’s becoming more apparent that it’s an issue that is very divisive for Americans in general, and in particular, for groups that are normally seen as having a liberal leaning, in this case Blacks. As with so many social issues, the dividing point comes down to jobs and economic security:

“If you drive across this city, you will see 99 percent of all construction is being done by Hispanics…. You will see no African-American males on these sites, and that is a big change,” says Mr. Vaughn, who has worked in construction for two decades.

His two oldest boys, in their early 20s, have been turned down so many times for jobs - as framers, roofers, cement layers - that they no longer apply, he says. While Los Angeles is ground zero for black-Hispanic friction these days, echoes of Vaughn’s words are rising throughout urban black America as Congress labors over immigration reform.

In cities where almost half of the young black men are unemployed, a debate is raging over whether Latinos - undocumented and not - are elbowing aside blacks for jobs in stores, restaurants, hotels, manufacturing plants, and elsewhere.

The article goes on to note that while the data and research are inconclusive on whether (or to what extent) Latino immigration has hurt the job prospects of Blacks, the reality is that the perception that it does is there and as any sociologist will tell you, the consequences of actions that result from those perceptions are very real.

In this case, the consequences of perceived competition between Latino immigrants and Blacks is a deep split among Blacks regarding immigration reform, along with rising intergroup tensions and increasing incidents of violence among Blacks and Latinos in schools, jails, and other parts of society.

This is combined with the fact that in terms of population size, Latinos have overtaken Blacks to become the country’s largest racial/ethnic minority group. That demographic shift has also led to rising levels of political power for Latinos and perhaps a waning of political power for Blacks.

From a sociological perspective, these tensions between Blacks and Latinos illustrates just how powerful economic and capitalist factors are in influencing social behavior. Normally Latinos and Blacks are seen as allies and having many historical and cultural similarities. But once economic competition comes into play, much of that cross-racial solidarity unfortunately goes out the window.

In other words, the power of capitalism, sadly, is undeniable.