Americans

America’s working class — and specifically black men — have had their employment opportunities and wages crushed by waves of low-skilled illegal immigration, the United States Commission on Civil Rights finds.

In 2008, the Commission issued a briefing report following deep analysis and interviews with various experts across the political spectrum. The goal of the report was to determine the role that illegal immigration plays in the lives of the nation’s working class and, more precisely, black Americans.

“In the midst of public debate over immigration reform, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights voted to examine the possible effects of illegal immigration on particularly vulnerable segments of the U.S. working population, specifically low-skill black workers,” the report states.

The Commission ultimately found that illegal immigration — on a scale ranging from 11 to 22 million illegal aliens living in the U.S., with millions of these illegal aliens holding jobs — has “tended to increase the supply of low-skilled, low-wage labor” that favors employers’ profit margins.

Black American men, with education rates lower than the average American, “are disproportionately employed in the low-skilled labor market, where they are more likely to be in labor competition with immigrants,” the Commission report states:

Illegal immigration to the United States in recent decades has tended to depress both wages and employment rates for low-skilled American citizens, a disproportionate number of whom are black men. Expert economic opinions concerning the negative effects range from modest to significant. Those panelists that found modest effects overall nonetheless found significant effects in industry sectors such as meatpacking and construction. [Emphasis added]

The Commission described the impact of illegal immigration on working-class Americans as a “piece of the puzzle that must be considered by policymakers in formulating sound immigration policy,” though recent proposals by Republicans and Democrats have focused almost exclusively on benefitting foreign nationals not yet in the U.S. rather than Americans harmed by decades-long mass immigration.

As a recommendation, the Commission suggested that the Bureau of Labor Statistics collect monthly figures on the number of illegal alien workers in the U.S. and compile data on how their employment is impacting jobs and wages for low-skilled Americans.

To date, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has refused to collect and compile such data.

Among the many different issues that have roiled the electorate in this 2020 midterm-election cycle, perhaps none has had as large an impact as illegal immigration. American voters are fed up with the status quo and want major changes made, the latest I&I/TIPP Poll shows.

Given the more than 500% increase in illegal crossings in the last five years, we asked poll respondents what should be done about the "costly disruption of border cities, human trafficking, higher crime and suspected terrorists crossing the border."

One answer stood out as unworkable to the 1,359 voters who answered the online I&/TIPP Poll, taken from Nov. 2-4: "Keep the current policy in place," which was supported by only 11% of those responding. The poll has a margin of error of +/-2.8 percentage points.

So which policy responses were most popular among voters?

Among the five possible answers, 45% responded that "Close the border to all illegal entrants and immediately deport those who are caught," making that the No. 1 response.

That response was followed by "Implement a temporary worker visa program to allow in those that have skills that fit into our economy," not far behind at 36% of the responses.

The third most cited response was "Build a wall, close the border," at 29%. "None of the above" garnered 11% support.

Not surprisingly, while most respondents wanted something new done to stanch the flow of illegal entrants into the U.S., which reached 2.7 million in the 2002 fiscal year, political affiliation had a big impact on how the answers broke down.

For instance, the policy response of "Close the border to all illegal entrants and immediately deport those who are caught," received support from just 31% of Democrats, compared to 67% of Republicans. As is often the case, independents were somewhere in the middle, at 41%.

As for implementing a temporary visa program to let in skilled workers, that was most favored by Democrats, at 44%, while just 23% of Republicans chose that as the best path forward. Independents were closer to the Democrats, at 40%.

"Build a wall, close the border"? Just 15% of Democrats liked that response, versus 52% of Republicans and 24% of independents.

As for the "status quo," 18% of Democrats said that would be best, while just 4% of Republicans and 9% of independents agreed.