The 1834 New York Labor Riots

By Jeremy Beck

“For eight days in July 1834, immigrants’ fear of the mere possibility of a future flood of newly freed slaves from the South competing with them for jobs in New York City boiled over into a full-scale riot involving thousands. It drew international attention.” – Back of the Hiring Line, Chapter 3 Watch the video … Continued

Work Visa Programs Diminish Black Labor Prospects

By Lisa Irving

As Black unemployment persists at high rates, data mounts on how visa programs work to keep Americans, and Blacks in particular, un- and under-employed. Pamela Denise Long and Miriam Jordan took on this troubling reality in recently published articles. Long asks “Should Black Americans Champion Immigration?” for her October Newsweek opinion piece 一 then probes … Continued

House Set to Repeat History of Immigration Injustices

By Jeremy Beck

We don’t like to say this much, but it has long been the practice of many restaurants to hire staff as inexpensively as possible and provide them with the fewest benefits that they can, often by restricting their hours so they don’t qualify as full-time employees….I guess that can be a good business plan when … Continued

History of the Border Surge

By Jeremy Beck

Lat week, we highlighted “Joseph Chamie’s warning”that another surge at the border is imminent. We don’t know how this latest one will play out — which depends largely on how the next administration handles it — but we can look back over the last decade to get a good idea of what we might expect. … Continued

Unions once fought for immigration limitations but that is changing

By Eric Wemlinger

In “Labor Unions Move To Protect Immigrants, Regardless Of Legal Status” Esther Yu-Hsi Lee of ThinkProgress writes: “In fact, some unions now have clauses in their contract that protect against the use of programs like E-Verify and I-9 that could prevent some immigrants from getting jobs in the first place. That controversial bargaining chip is … Continued

Sustainable Immigration (part 2 of 4): The Middle Class

By Jeremy Beck

This is the second of four blogs concerning immigration-sustainability questions policy makers should address. Part One: American Workers Part Two: The Middle Class In 1924, encouraged by labor leaders, Congress reduced immigration numbers back toward the historical average of 250,000 per year. After decades of massive population growth, tight labor markets eventually returned and paved … Continued

History of H-1B Legislation Shows More Than Employer Abuses

By Charles Breiterman

Karl Kiefer, a true citizen-scholar from Sunbright, Tennessee, examines the H-1B visa program. An official government summary of the H-1B visa is available by clicking here. The main use of the H-1B visa is for employers to bring in foreign workers who hold a college degree. Typical occupations include architects, engineers, computer programmers, and accountants. … Continued