Should Republicans go ahead and add Supreme Court Justices to head off Democrats

New Orleans being rebuilt by hispanics

Ruben Navarrette:

If you thought the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina was ugly, then you should take a look at what's happening now. It's not pretty.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin are up in arms because what has historically been a mostly black city may be on its way to becoming a largely brown city. Latino immigrants are coming to New Orleans from as far away as California to repair homes, clear debris, rebuild roads and do other jobs. According to a story in the Los Angeles Times, they're making about $15 per hour, and they've been so warmly received by contractors that many of them say they plan to stay, save money, buy homes, and put down roots in the Big Easy.

Before Katrina, New Orleans was only about 3 percent Latino. Now, demographers say the city's Latino population could swell to four or five times that amount.

That comes as a bolt of bad news for black leaders nostalgic for a city and a culture that for all practical purposes no longer exists. Ironically, a lot of what's being said by these folks resembles what white nativists say in the immigration debate.

Nagin told reporters that his new worry is how he is going to ``ensure that New Orleans is not overrun by Mexican workers.''

The thing is, many of the city's former residents (especially many of its black residents) say that they have no desire to go back.

...

Here's what this is really about. First, black leaders are fighting to remain relevant in New Orleans, and they know that they have a better chance of that happening if they can keep the city mostly black. And second, there's a struggle of competing values.

City officials say that one thing that keeps former residents from wanting to give New Orleans another chance is the lack of subsidized housing.

Guess what? Latino immigrants have to contend with the same shortage. The difference is that the immigrants are not sitting around and waiting for government to come to the rescue. They're probably living two or three families to a house, and saving money to buy a home of their own.

That's how it used to be in this country before the advent of the welfare state. And, if immigrants win this tug of war, that's the way it'll be again.

Hispanics are hard workers. New Orleans should embrace their interest in the city.