By Mona Austin
African Americans are being adversely affected by the immigration crisis. The latest immigration reform proposal from Pres. Donald Trump should be concerning to Blacks on several fronts.
The proposal will increase competition between Black workers, especially men, and incoming immigrants. Trump is mandating that the next wave of immigrants are supremely talented (i.e., high quality educated workers). The new immigration laws would affect the availability of both blue collar and white collar work.
Blacks immigrants and immigrant of other races are surpassing African Americans in wealth, adding to the existing wealth divide between American-born Blacks and Whites. There is also a tendency for Africans, Jamaicans, Haitians and other Blacks from the diaspora to make more money than Blacks from the U.S. Members of these groups tend to have college degrees and higher skill sets. A 2015 Nielsen study discovered that "the median household income for foreign-born blacks is 30% higher than U.S.-born blacks.
(https://cis.org/Testimony/Immigration-and-Black-Americans-Assessing-Impact)
The detrimental impact of immigration on the African American community is nothing new. In 2008 research by Andrew Sum, Paul Harrington, and Ishwar Khatiwada at Northeastern University found that immigrants are displacing young native-born men in the labor market and that the largest impact is on Blacks and Hispanics.3 Blacks are more likely to be in competition with immigrants than are whites.4 Immigrants move to larger, more wealthy cities to make a living. n an area like Chicago, this may present a problem for black men. Unable to secure the jobs at a higher rate than other racial groups, currently in Chicago 40% of the Black men are unemployed.
Historically economic trends for Blacks have reflected a significant disparity. Education alone has never been enough to level the playing field. The current racial wealth gap reality takes into account Blacks who are college educated and more than half a century of declining discrimination, although it is well noted that slavery contributed greatly to lack and poverty among African Americans. Add to that the perpetual racism under Jim Crow laws and it seems unfair to make a comparison to any other group. While the struggle for an equal place in the workforce for Black men has existed for years, it is complicated by the increase in immigrants. It is also important to note that other factors contribute to African Americans being behind in wealth. The wealth gap exists primarily because African Americans do not tend to save or prepare/invest in their future or recycle Black dollars in their own communities, leaving the next generation with nothing to inherit and build upon. Aside form teh fact that slaves had no inheritance or financial foundation to build upon, racism has been a major factor Blacks make money and advance financially, but do not tend to keep their financial status over long periods of time. Black immigrants tend to hold multiple college degrees and are higher wage earners than American-born Blacks. Economic growth occurs across all groups at a greater rate than for Blacks. This may be compounded by the new requirement for admission
Historically economic trends for Blacks have reflected a significant disparity. Education alone has never been enough to level the playing field. The current racial wealth gap reality takes into account Blacks who are college educated and more than half a century of declining discrimination, although it is well noted that slavery contributed greatly to lack and poverty among African Americans. Add to that the perpetual racism under Jim Crow laws and it seems unfair to make a comparison to any other group. While the struggle for an equal place in the workforce for Black men has existed for years, it is complicated by the increase in immigrants. It is also important to note that other factors contribute to African Americans being behind in wealth. The wealth gap exists primarily because African Americans do not tend to save or prepare/invest in their future or recycle Black dollars in their own communities, leaving the next generation with nothing to inherit and build upon. Aside form teh fact that slaves had no inheritance or financial foundation to build upon, racism has been a major factor Blacks make money and advance financially, but do not tend to keep their financial status over long periods of time. Black immigrants tend to hold multiple college degrees and are higher wage earners than American-born Blacks. Economic growth occurs across all groups at a greater rate than for Blacks. This may be compounded by the new requirement for admission
African Americans will need take a strategic approach to prepare for the impending challenge including educational advancement, cooperative economics and investing. Many educated African Americans are first generation. They may not have been exposed to models for survival to duplicate. However, for Blacks finding a way to thrive now is going to be crucial for surviving in the "New America."