Immigration’s Effects on Black American Economic Opportunity

Mark Krikorian; Roy Beck

By Mark Krikorian and Roy Beck on October 15, 2026

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Summary

How has immigration policy affected Black workers over the past 200 years? Roy Beck, founder of NumbersUSA, joins the Center for Immigration Studies’ Parsing Immigration Policy podcast to discuss the expanded second edition of his book, Back of the Hiring Line: A 200-Year History of Immigration Surges, Employer Bias and Depression of Black Wealth.

The revised edition builds on Beck’s 2021 book, expanding its examination of how immigration-driven labor competition has affected wages, working conditions, and economic opportunity for Black Americans. The new edition also reflects the response to the original book, including interest from Black Americans seeking a deeper understanding of immigration’s role in the history of American labor.

Beck examines the views of Frederick Douglass and labor leader A. Philip Randolph on immigration and the interests of American workers. He discusses how their ideological commitments shaped their positions as immigration levels and labor-market conditions changed. The conversation also explores the historical role of employers’ demand for low-cost labor.

Beck argues that a tight labor market offers one of the most practical ways to improve wages and working conditions for marginalized Americans, particularly Black workers without college degrees. He contends that mass immigration and employer preferences for foreign labor have placed disproportionate pressure on Black workers, contributing to persistent employment and income disparities.

In his closing commentary, host Mark Krikorian discusses the search warrant executed by Homeland Security Investigations agents at Rep. Ilhan Omar’s home. He cautions against assuming the investigation focuses only on immigration fraud, noting that it could also involve financial crimes unrelated to immigration. He urges waiting for more information before drawing conclusions.