Immigration Restrictions Helped Lead to Martin Luther King Success Immigration Restrictions Helped Lead to Martin Luther King Success By Roy Beck, January 15, 2021 On this day, the birthday of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., let’s remember the influence of immigration restriction on the effectiveness of the movement that he epitomizes. At the 1963 March on Washington that included King’s iconic “I have a dream” speech, the lead organizer and head of the event was A. Philip Randolph, one of the greatest civil rights leaders of the 20th century. The president of the Sleeping Car Porters union had a long history of advocating for immigration restrictions as part of his five decades of advancing Black economic interests.