Trump says immigrants are taking "Black jobs," but there's no such thing
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Former President Trump speaking at the NABJ convention on Wednesday. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images
Former President Trump told a roomful of Black journalists on Wednesday that immigrants are taking "Black jobs."
Why it matters: The remarks, made at the National Association of Black Journalists annual convention, are not only out of step with the reality of the U.S. economy, they also reinforce stereotypes about the kind of work Black people do.
- They follow similar language Trump used in his debate with President Biden last month and in other venues, and reflect one of the core ideas of his campaign — echoed often by his running mate JD Vance, that immigration hurts U.S. workers.
State of play: "I will tell you that coming from the border, are millions and millions of people that happen to be taking Black jobs," Trump said.
- Asked to define a Black job, he added: "A Black job is anybody that has a job. That's what it is," drawing laughs from the room.
- He said there's an "invasion" of people coming into the country, and that "the Black population is affected most by that."
Reality check: For starters, there are no Black jobs in the U.S., because there is not any kind of racial requirement for employment. (Those were made illegal with the Civil Rights laws passed decades ago — though there is still discrimination in hiring.)
- Black people have all kinds of jobs from vice president to hedge fund bro to journalist and so on.
Between the lines: The notion that immigrants take U.S. workers' jobs away has been debunked and debated by economists for years.
- "On balance, when you read the data, it appears that the effect of immigration on the employment of natives is small or non existent," said Justin Wolfers, an economist at the University of Michigan.
- Immigrants don't only work in the U.S., they also are consumers themselves — meaning they increase demand for goods and services, which can help economies grow. (Go deeper: Listen to this recent Planet Money on the topic.)
The big picture: Trump's comments conflict with the reality of the labor market right now.
- There's been an influx of immigration over the past few years, unemployment in the U.S. is at historic lows and wages are up. And unemployment rates for Black people, though higher than for white people, are relatively low.
- In fact, employers in some occupations, particularly in lower-wage jobs, have been complaining about worker shortages.
- And, as the American population ages, immigration's role is only growing in importance — some areas lacking a robust population of immigrants are struggling to find workers to staff hospitals and hotels, as this recent WSJ story illustrates.
The bottom line: When it comes to Black employment, the presidential election seems to involve a choice between two opposing visions of what's possible, with a Democratic candidate whose candidacy implicitly shows that Black people can do anything and an opponent telling a very different story.
Go deeper: Five explosive moments from Trump's off-the-rails NABJ interview
