A top conservative immigration expert argues that the recent surge in immigration to the United States is likely to have a major impact on the employment prospects of black Americans, just as the Census Bureau has revealed that foreign workers are reaping benefits in the job market.
Published data Bureau of Labor StatisticsAccording to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a division of the Department of Labor, employment for U.S.-born workers fell by more than 1.3 million jobs over the past 12 months, while employment for foreign-born workers increased by more than 1.2 million jobs.
As of August of this year, there were 129,712,000 U.S.-born workers; by August 2023, that number is expected to fall to 131,031,000, a sharp decline of 1,319,000 jobs.
Jobs report is a boon for immigrants, a slum for Americans
By comparison, there were 31.636 million foreign-born workers in the U.S. as of last month, but that number is expected to grow to 30.396 million by August 2023, an increase of 1.24 million jobs.
Roy Beck, founder of NumbersUSA, an organization that advocates for reducing immigration, recently published “Behind the Hiring Lines: A 200-Year History of Immigration Surge, Employer Prejudice, and the Decline of Black Wealth.”
In the book, he outlines the history of government-induced removals that had the greatest impact on the future of black Americans.
“Economic historians have shown that every time you have a higher rate of immigration, black men's incomes have gone down and income inequality, racial inequality, has gone up,” he said. “Every time you reduce immigration, black families and black men are better off.”“
A surge in foreign-born workers is reshaping America's job market
August Statistics The unemployment rate for adult men is 4% and for adult women is 3.7%. For white Americans it is 3.8% and for black Americans it is 6.1%. The White House noted in May that the unemployment rate for black workers was 5.6% as of April, but that this was still lower than the average unemployment rate for black Americans from 2016 to 2020 (about 8%) and the average unemployment rate for black Americans from 2000 to 2015 (11%).
But Beck argues that while foreigners often create jobs, some of the jobs they fill would otherwise go to Americans of any race, and that racism means black Americans are often the last to be hired.
“Racism remains prevalent among many employers, and the descendants of American slavery tend to be the last to be hired,” he said. “African Americans, the descendants of American slavery, have always been the best performers. All Americans have always been the best performers, but they have always been the best performers in tight labor markets. Immigration is not the only thing that determines whether the labor market is tight or loose, but immigration is something that can be controlled.”
Migrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border line up at a remote U.S. Border Patrol processing center on Dec. 7, 2023, in Lukeville, Arizona. (Photo: John Moore/Getty Images)
“The government can control how many foreign workers are allowed in,” he said, “but for the last three and a half years there has been virtually no control. I mean, we've never seen numbers like the new foreign workers that have come in the last three and a half years.”
As for why this hasn't been a big issue for black civil rights leaders, he said it's because while key national leaders haven't spoken out, some at the local level have.
“We're seeing more and more Black leadership in places like Chicago, Philadelphia and Houston. We're seeing more and more local Black leaders using local ears, local eyes and local voices.”
But he accuses national leaders of turning a blind eye because of “political alliances”.
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“The tragedy is that part of the reason seems to be that black leaders feel they have to ally with Hispanic political leaders, but the fact is that polls show that a majority of Hispanic Americans don't want this much immigration either,” he said.
But he believes change is coming.
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“At some point, these leaders will be left behind because people in their communities will no longer have patience for national leaders who insist on shoving unwanted workers and people without a place to live into their communities.”
