I'm left with that distinct impression after reading the scandalous article "Immigrants Rush to New Orleans as Contractors Fight for Workers" latimes . com/business/la-fi-migrants10oct10,0,6559357.story by Peter Pae). Perhaps the black community should ask that paper to clarify its stance, especially after publishing an editorial from Gregory Rodriguez which supported illegal aliens taking rebuilding jobs from Americans.

From the latest LAT article:

...Word has gotten out and each morning day laborers - who come from Central America and Mexico by way of California, Texas and Arizona - gather on street corners in the Kenner and Metairie neighborhoods on the western edge of the city.

With 140,000 homes destroyed or damaged by Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans is undergoing the nation's largest reconstruction effort and its new workforce is largely Latino. No one knows how many immigrants have descended here since Katrina ravaged the city five weeks ago, but their presence is visible throughout the city.

[reports on a couple who wired "half of their paycheck to their family back home"; "If we can make enough money, we would like to buy a house and bring our children to New Orleans."]

So, illegal aliens are not just rebuilding an American city. Many of them are probably being indirectly paid out of federal or state money. And, they're then sending a large portion of that money out of the country. If you're an American, that's an outrage. If you're the Los Angeles Times, that's just a news story.

[...contractor Perry Custer is importing workers from Atlanta and Houston; a "temporary employment service of sorts for laborers" has been created...]

...Contractors say one advantage in using [the service] is that they don't have to deal with paperwork or check to see whether the workers are in the U.S. legally.

"There is a 'don't ask, don't tell,' mentality right now," Custer said. He added that there didn't seem to be any effort to crack down on illegal immigrants. "If they do who will rebuild New Orleans?"

How about we do what we have to to encourage and enable New Orleans residents to rebuild their own city? Or, at the least, other Americans rather than illegal aliens? What's the American way?

Only in the twenty-fourth paragraph do we get some hint that this might not be such a good thing after all:

The influx of Latino workers is raising concern among city officials. Last week, Associated Press reported, New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin asked local businesspeople, "How do I ensure that New Orleans is not overrun by Mexican workers?"

Believe it or don't: out of 34 paragraphs, that is the only contrary information in the whole article.

"They may be the new service class in New Orleans," said Lawrence Powell, a historian at Tulane University. "It only takes a few people to put down roots and begin the chain of migration. I'm wondering if we're seeing the first signs of a population swap."

Yes, indeed. And, un-American sources will be there, cheering it on. If you still subscribe to the Los Angeles Times, just stop.