Immigration, Labor, and African Americans

The latest episode of the Center for Immigration Studies’ Parsing Immigration Policy podcast features a wide-ranging conversation with Frank Morris Sr., who recently retired from the Center's Board of Directors after 38 years of service.

Morris – a former Foreign Service officer, Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, and Dean of Graduate Studies at Morgan State University – joined CIS Executive Director Mark Krikorian to discuss how immigration policy has evolved over the decades and why its impact on American workers, particularly African Americans, first drew him to the Center.

Morris was invited to join the CIS board after publishing research examining immigration’s effects on black workers, an issue he believes remains relevant today.

Among the topics discussed:

• Why tight labor markets have historically provided the greatest economic opportunities for African Americans.
• How immigration policy affects wages, employment, and labor market competition.
• The changing relationship between the Democratic Party and working-class voters.
• Why concerns about immigration’s impact on black workers have largely disappeared from mainstream political debate.
• The divide between political leadership and grassroots opinion on immigration.
• The role of institutions such as churches, civil rights organizations, fraternities, and historically black colleges in advancing economic opportunity.
• Why Morris believes understanding immigration requires a deeper appreciation of American history, particularly labor markets, immigration, and economic opportunity.

Reflecting on nearly four decades with CIS, Morris discusses the personal and professional costs of taking unpopular positions, the future of the immigration debate, and why he believes policymakers must pay closer attention to the interests of American workers.

In his closing commentary, Krikorian drew attention to the recent federal indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a group which libeled CIS as a “hate group” in an attempt to police the immigration debate, drawing particular attention to New York Post reporting on Heidi Beirich, who was responsible for the “hate group” designation.

Host

Mark Krikorian is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies.

Guest

Frank Morris, Sr. is an Emeritus Board Member of the Center for Immigration Studies

Links

A 2013 interview with Frank Morris

SPLC boss funneled $1.2 million to lover in neo-Nazi group — pair even had joint bank account

How labeling my organization a hate group shuts down public debate

Intro Montage

Voices in the opening montage:

• Sen. Barack Obama at a 2005 press conference.
• Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.
• President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.
• Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.
• Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.
• Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.
• Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.
• Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.
• Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.
• Candidate Trump in 2015 campaign speech.
• Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".