Program Success Christian Reader September 2007 | Page 31
The Christian Reader September 2007 31
Do Illegal Immigrants Really Take Jobs
From Poor American Workers?
By Earl Ofari Hutchinson
Guest Columnist
The young black man hesitated as he stood outside
the small furniture manufacturing shop in South Los
Angeles. He was dressed neatly, and he was well
groomed. He eyed the building warily. The sign on
the narrow glass door in English and Spanish, read
“help wanted” and trabajo aqui. The opening was for
a shop helper, mostly to sweep up and do routine
clean up and maintenance. It did not require any
education or special skill. It paid minimum wage, as
did the thousands of shops that dotted the area. The
company had no employee health care plan, or other
benefits.
manufacturers paid a living wage and provided
benefits. It might be a different story, at least for
some young people in Los Angeles.
Then there’s the regional factor. There is some
evidence that young workers will work jobs in the
South and the Midwest. Jobs that have long been
designated as jobs that only illegal immigrants will
work, that is if those jobs were offered to them. But
when employers give the quick brush-off to young
blacks and other young American workers that are
willing to take lower end jobs, they send the not-
so-subtle message that they are not wanted or
welcome.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson
After a moment he went in and politely asked for an
application. The petite receptionist, a young Latina, handed him an
application form, with an airy nonchalance. She curtly suggested that
he fill it out and bring it back. When he asked if there would be an
interview, she haltingly said only if there was a position open. The
young man looked perplexed, glanced at the help wanted sign, politely
thanked her and left. A couple of hours later two other young Latinos
came in to apply. One was immediately hired. The other was told that
another helper job might open up within the next few days. However,
the workers in the shop, as they were in nearly all the other shops in
the area were Latinos, a large percentage of who were illegal
immigrants.
There were no other blacks, whites, or even English speaking native-
born Latino workers in the plant or at few of the other shops in the
area. This is not a fictional story. I personally witnessed the scene at
the company involving the black job seeker. Anti-illegal immigration
activists say that the experience of the young black job seeker has
played out thousands of times at restaurants, hotels, on farms, and at
manufacturing plants nationally, and that this is a major reason so
many young black males are unemployed join gangs, deal drugs and
pack America’s jails.
Congress will hammer out a comprehensive immigration reform law.
But it won’t answer this question: Do the estimated 10 to 12 million
illegal immigrants in the country take jobs from American citizens,
especially the bottom rung American workers, the young, the poor and
more often than not African-American workers?
What if the young black job seeker, or any other American looking for
work in a low end manufacturing plant or a restaurant in Los Angeles,
were offered that job which probably pays minimum wage and doesn’t
offer any benefits or job security? Would he take it? Maybe yes, maybe
no. It’s certainly hard to imagine that a young black from South Los
Angeles, South Chicago, or Harlem, not to mention a native born
young white or Latino going out to the fields to pick strawberries for
10 to 12 hours a day in the hot sun at minimum or even sub-minimum
wages. Or, that they’d take a job at a car wash or bus dishes in a
restaurant. But what if the farm contractors, car wash owners, and
This is a powerful disincentive for them to pursue
work in these taboo areas of the job market. The
end result is that an entire category of jobs at the ground rung of
American industry is clearly marked as “Latino only.” The fight over
jobs and illegal immigration came at the worst possible time for the
urban poor. Shrinking federal and state budgets for job training and
creation programs, industry downsizing, and escalating crime and
violence in inner city neighborhoods made banks and corporations
even more reluctant to invest in these communities, and that made the
job situation even worse.
The young black in Los Angeles and other cities that anti-illegal
immigration opponents cite as proof that illegal immigration is ruinous
for the economy and the urban poor may or may not have lost out in
his job hunt to an illegal immigrant. But he also might have lost out in
his job search because of discrimination, poor education, government
budget slashes and the flight of manufacturers to other countries. That
is no excuse not to ensure that American workers have the right to
work in any and all industries. That would do much to calm the fury of
many Americans who worry that illegal immigration sledgehammers
at least some American workers. Congress and the Bush
Administration must not ignore that worry.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is columnist for BlackNews.com, a political
analyst and social issues commentator, and the author of The Crisis in
Black and Black (Middle Passage Press). For media interviews,
contact:
Mr.
Hutchinson
at
323-296-6331
or
[email protected]
Never give up on yourself when
faced with obstacles. God has
more in store for you. Hold on
tight to your faith... it is your
strentgh and your solution.