The Denver Post, April 8, 2008, Tuesday

The Denver Post

April 8, 2008, Tuesday

The Denver Post

A civil rights issue

By Al Knight
Article Last Updated: 04/08/2008 08:34:20 PM MDT


There was a moment in one of the early Democratic presidential debates when it looked like Barack Obama would have to answer a touchy question about illegal immigration and the effect it was having on high black unemployment rates.

He ducked the opportunity and said he wouldn't use racial and ethnic stereotypes to blame immigrant workers for taking jobs that otherwise might go to urban black men.

Obama's response was perfectly understandable for a candidate who didn't want to pit the interests of one group of potential supporters (mostly Hispanic) against the interests of another (mostly black). But while it was understandable, it was also a transparent evasion.

There is a relationship between levels of illegal immigration and the rates of black unemployment, black education levels and even the levels of incarceration for black men.

Last week, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights convened a hearing to discuss the exact nature and scope of those relationships. While the hearing failed to produce a consensus, it did highlight aspects of illegal immigration that are often overlooked.

The most compelling testimony at the hearing was that of Vernon M. Briggs, an employment and labor specialist. Briggs noted that if there were 12 million illegal immigrants in this country who were taking the jobs of law professors, social scientists, physicians and other professionals, there wouldn't be any need for a hearing. That sort of invasion of the work force, he said, would have stopped long ago. The reason the government hasn't acted, he said, is because it is the low-skilled job sector that is directly affected.

Briggs pointed out that the 7 million to 9 million illegal immigrant workers in the country compete directly with 45 million Americans for the lower paying jobs. That competition has resulted in inflated unemployment rates for black men and women. Black youths, for example, have an unemployment rate of over 30 percent (and that only includes those actively in the job market.)

Briggs went on to note that illegal immigrant workers tend to concentrate in many of the same urban areas where blacks make up a large percentage of the native population. They do so because the likelihood of detection and deportation is less and because there are competitive benefits. These illegal workers have a number of advantages, among them a willingness to work for a lower wage. "They can rely on networks of friends and family members as well as other employers and community assistance organizations composed of members of their same backgrounds to find employment," Briggs said.

He added that the big loser in the competition for jobs is the "low-skilled black worker."

So what should be done? Those who think illegal immigration has a minor effect on black workers say what is required is more education, better training, better access to labor unions and a more generous tax policy.

The other choice is the policy goal endorsed by Briggs, a goal that actually dates back to one of the early studies of illegal immigration: "People who should get in [to the United States] do get in; people who should not get in are kept out; and people who are judged deportable are required to leave."

Those two approaches cannot be reconciled. The nation will eventually have to pick one — but given the current state of election-year politics, don't expect that decision to be made this November.

Al Knight of Buena Vista (alknight@mindspring.com) is a former member of The Post's editorial-page staff. His column appears twice a month.