{"id":5708,"date":"2014-01-17T18:11:14","date_gmt":"2014-01-17T23:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/live-immigrationreform.pantheonsite.io\/?p=5708"},"modified":"2018-12-28T15:17:03","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T20:17:03","slug":"immigration-a-civil-rights-issue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2014\/01\/17\/immigration-a-civil-rights-issue\/","title":{"rendered":"Immigration: A Civil Rights Issue"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Martin Luther King Day, as we remember a powerful civil rights leader, we should also consider the civil rights implications of choices made by Congress on immigration policy today.\u00a0 Those who call immigration reform a \u201ccivil rights\u201d issue but also support amnesty (such as Eric Holder<\/a> and Mark Zuckerberg<\/a>) make the serious mistake of forgetting about one particular segment of the population who are disproportionally harmed: the black American worker.<\/p>\n

One of the few to address this matter of civil rights has been Peter Kirsanow, an African-American Commissioner currently serving on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. This month, Kirsanow wrote<\/a> that if Congress were to pass amnesty legislation, it would \u201csend the employment numbers falling further down the cliff \u2014 especially the employment numbers for low-skilled Americans\u201d further noting that \u201cillegal immigration has displaced hundreds of thousands of black American workers alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirsanow backs up his assertion with thorough evidence and research.\u00a0 Kirsanow pointed to a U.S. Commission on Civil Rights report<\/a> finding that \u201cIllegal 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.\u201d\u00a0 At the hearing<\/a> that proceeded that report, a group of ideologically diverse scholars all agreed that illegal immigration has a negative impact on black employment, both for employment opportunities as well as wages.<\/p>\n

Alarmed by the dwindling job prospects for minorities if Congress passes an amnesty, Commissioner Kirsanow joined with two colleagues on the Commission last year to write a letter<\/a> to the Congressional Black Caucus, declaring, that \u201c[g]ranting amnesty to illegal immigrants will only further harm African-American workers\u2026[by]making it difficult for African-Americans to find job opportunities.\u201d\u00a0 The Commissioners explained that there are simply not enough jobs in the low-skilled labor market for both blacks and illegal aliens.\u00a0 If Congress passes amnesty, African-Americans are the ones disproportionately harmed.\u00a0 The letter warned Members of Congress considering immigration reform to seriously evaluate the \u201cearnings prospects of low-skill Americans generally and black Americans specifically.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirsanow\u2019s point seems to be heard at least by 16 Members of Congress.\u00a0 These 16 wrote<\/a> to President Obama on behalf of the African-Americans in this country who are \u201cenduring chronically high unemployment.\u201d \u00a0They called for no amnesty.\u00a0 They are also calling for civil rights.