Do African American voters buy into Trump claim immigrants are taking ‘Black jobs’?

Trump repeated those remarks during his speech to close out the Republican National Convention. “You know who’s being hurt the most by millions of people pouring into our country? The Black population and the Hispanic population,” he said. Trump’s attempt to tie his hard-line position on illegal immigration to the employment prospects for African Americans appears to be an attempt to peel away Black votes from his Democratic opponent. But it does not seem to resonate with most Black voters interviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. McCrary, a retired farmer living in Albany, said he is not concerned about immigrants taking jobs, nor has he seen an impact. “That is the biggest false statement I have heard from him,” McCrary said of Trump. “There are plenty of jobs out here. If you want to work, you can work.” Data shows Trump’s claims are misleading. The average unemployment rate for Black Americans was about 8% between 2016 and 2020. In June, the rate was 6.3% and hit a record-low of 5% in March 2023. (The previous low of 5.3% came in 2019 under Trump.) The unemployment rate for Black workers is higher than for other racial groups, according to the U.S. Bureau...