America\u2019s working class \u2014 and specifically black men \u2014 have had their employment opportunities and wages crushed by waves of low-skilled illegal immigration, the United States Commission on Civil Rights finds.
\nIn 2008, the Commission issued a\u00a0briefing report\u00a0following 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\u2019s working class and, more precisely, black Americans.
\n\u201cIn 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,\u201d the report states.
\nThe Commission ultimately found that illegal immigration \u2014 on a scale ranging from 11 to 22 million illegal aliens living in the U.S., with millions of these illegal aliens holding jobs \u2014 has \u201ctended to increase the supply of low-skilled, low-wage labor\u201d that favors employers\u2019 profit margins.
\nBlack American men, with education rates lower than the average American, \u201care disproportionately employed in the low-skilled labor market, where they are more likely to be in labor competition with immigrants,\u201d the Commission report states:
\nIllegal 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]
\nThe Commission described the impact of illegal immigration on working-class Americans as a \u201cpiece of the puzzle that must be considered by policymakers in formulating sound immigration policy,\u201d 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.
\nAs 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.<\/p>\n