Immigration, Labor, and African Americans

Mark Krikorian; Frank Morris; Sr.

By Mark Krikorian and Frank Morris, Sr. on June 18, 2026

Follow Parsing Immigration Policy on Ricochet, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, or use the podcast's RSS Feed.

Listen to "Immigration, Labor, and African Americans" on Spreaker.

Summary

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.