Coretta Scott King, the wife of Martin Luther King, Jr., once helped successfully quash legislation from Republicans and Democrats in the early 1990s that would have eliminated fines for United States employers hiring illegal aliens over Americans.
In 1991, former Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) led an effort in Congress to pass legislation that would have thrown out the ability of the federal government to fine American employers for hiring illegal aliens — the leading magnet for illegal immigration to the nation for decades.
Former Sens. John McCain (R-AZ), Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Arlen Specter (R-PA), and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) were co-sponsors of Hatch’s legislation, while in the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and then-Reps. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and John Lewis (D-GA) were among the co-sponsors of an identical bill from former Rep. Edward Roybal (D-CA).
When Scott King got wind of Hatch’s legislation, she authored a letter with other Civil Rights leaders detailing how illegal immigration diminishes wages, living standards, quality of life, and employment opportunities for America’s working class and, specifically, black Americans who are most likely to compete against illegal aliens for jobs.
“We are concerned, Senator Hatch, that your proposed … elimination of employer sanctions will cause another problem — the revival of pre-1986 discrimination against black and brown U.S. and documented workers, in favor of cheap labor — the undocumented workers,” Scott King wrote in 1991.
6/19/1968 — Washington, D.C.: Mrs. Martin Luther King Jr., widow of the slain civil rights leader, addresses the “Solidarity Day” rally of the Poor People’s Campaign from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. She told the nearly 50,000 persons gathered that “racism, poverty, and war” had combined to make matters worse for poor black and white alike. (Bettmann/Getty Images)
“This would undoubtedly exacerbate an already severe economic crisis in communities where there are large numbers of new immigrants,” Scott King continued:
Finally, we are concerned that some who support the repeal of employer sanctions are using “discrimination” as a guise for their desire to abuse undocumented workers and to introduce cheap labor into the U.S. workforce. America does not have a labor shortage. With roughly seven million people unemployed, and double that number discouraged from seeking work, the removal of employer sanctions threatens to add U.S. workers to the rolls of the unemployed. [Emphasis added]
Additionally, it would add to the competition for scarce jobs and drive down wages. Moreover, the repeal of employer sanctions will inevitably add to our social problems and place an unfair burden on the poor in the cities in which most new immigrants cluster — cities which are already suffering housing shortages and insufficient human needs services. [Emphasis added]
According to Scott King, fining U.S. employers for hiring illegal aliens over Americans is a “necessary means of stopping the exploitation of vulnerable workers and the undercutting of American jobs and living standards.”
Those who signed the letter with Scott King included William Lucy of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Norman Hill with the A. Phillip Randolph Institute, and Dr. Ramona Edelin of the National Urban Coalition, among others.
Thanks in part to Scott King’s opposition, Hatch’s bill failed in the House and Senate.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at
