Citizenship and opportunity

Re “Immigration Forum Gets Intense,” April 24

Activist Ted Hayes is right -- illegal immigration has lowered wages and pushed African Americans out of the building trades and service jobs that were our opportunity to have the American dream. Illegal immigration has also strained education and healthcare services in distressed communities, disproportionally affecting African Americans.

The illegal immigration agenda is not a civil rights movement. The civil rights movement called for dignity and opportunity for all Americans. African American soldiers died for this country when they were not able to get the benefit at home of full citizenship. African Americans are first and foremost Americans -- we are not going back to any other country; our home is here. African Americans have given their hearts and souls to this country -- that is what makes you a citizen.

THEODORE J. SMITH III

Chair, African American Caucus

California Democratic Party

Los Angeles

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Re “Hoisting the flag in anger,” Opinion, April 26

Erin Aubry Kaplan asserts that U.S. citizenship “has always been less about papers and more about race, privilege and perceptions of who belongs and who doesn’t, and why.”

Wrong. Today, U.S. citizenship is about going to school, studying and becoming a person capable of making a meaningful contribution to society. It is about participation in the political process and casting an informed ballot. It is not about teen pregnancies, drug usage, fatherless homes and gang affiliations. These criteria apply to any group, race and identifiable ethnicity. If you can play these cards, the U.S. welcomes you. If not, get out -- or, at least, shut up.

LOUIS NEVELL

Los Angeles