Bridging the Black & Brown "Divide" with Facts
Anti-immigrant groups have repeatedly tried to drive a wedge between African Americans and immigrants by capitalizing on the myth that immigrants take American jobs—particularly jobs that would otherwise go to African Americans. That myth, as anti-immigrant groups present it, is simply not true, says Gerald Jaynes, a professor of Economics and African American Studies at Yale University. In a new Perspectives piece for the Immigration Policy Center, A Conversation about the Economic Effects of Immigration on African Americans, Jaynes dispels the myth that immigrants take “black jobs” and instead suggests we find solutions on how to lift up all low-wage American workers.
In his plainspoken narrative, Jaynes cites statistical analysis on the effect of immigration on wages and native-born employment and finds the effects to be “relatively small and secondary to other causes of low wages and employment.” According to Jaynes, declining black employment is due more to other factors—declining factory jobs, low educational achievement, drop-out rates, criminal activity and incarceration rates—which have been restructuring the US labor market for the past several decades.
While Jaynes acknowledges the effects of immigration on the employment and wages of less-educated citizens is “not a perfect blessing,” he also points out that immigration as a whole is a net benefit to the US economy. Between one-half and three-quarters of undocumented immigrants now work “on the books” and pay federal and state income taxes, Social Security taxes, and Medicare taxes. Additionally, immigration as a whole increases the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by roughly $37 billion each year, according to a 2007 White House report.
Supporting Jaynes’ argument, a recent IPC study by Rob Paral and Associates found that “there is little apparent relationship between recent immigration and unemployment rates among African Americans, or any other native-born racial/ethnic group, at the state or metropolitan level.” Paral’s study looks at the most recent labor department data of unemployment rates in states with the highest share of immigrants...
As Rev. Al Sharpton says:
We need to stop comparing disparities and start finding solutions. It is imperative for the African American community to stand together with the Latino community and for the Latino community to stand with the Asian community. You cannot have human rights for some—we need it for all. We must stand together with all our brothers and sisters.
http://immigrationimpact.com/2009/07/14/br...
In his plainspoken narrative, Jaynes cites statistical analysis on the effect of immigration on wages and native-born employment and finds the effects to be “relatively small and secondary to other causes of low wages and employment.” According to Jaynes, declining black employment is due more to other factors—declining factory jobs, low educational achievement, drop-out rates, criminal activity and incarceration rates—which have been restructuring the US labor market for the past several decades.
While Jaynes acknowledges the effects of immigration on the employment and wages of less-educated citizens is “not a perfect blessing,” he also points out that immigration as a whole is a net benefit to the US economy. Between one-half and three-quarters of undocumented immigrants now work “on the books” and pay federal and state income taxes, Social Security taxes, and Medicare taxes. Additionally, immigration as a whole increases the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by roughly $37 billion each year, according to a 2007 White House report.
Supporting Jaynes’ argument, a recent IPC study by Rob Paral and Associates found that “there is little apparent relationship between recent immigration and unemployment rates among African Americans, or any other native-born racial/ethnic group, at the state or metropolitan level.” Paral’s study looks at the most recent labor department data of unemployment rates in states with the highest share of immigrants...
As Rev. Al Sharpton says:
We need to stop comparing disparities and start finding solutions. It is imperative for the African American community to stand together with the Latino community and for the Latino community to stand with the Asian community. You cannot have human rights for some—we need it for all. We must stand together with all our brothers and sisters.
http://immigrationimpact.com/2009/07/14/br...
