By Emely Abreu '21
The United States is well known for being the land of the free (if you are privileged), and of great opportunities. In fact, individuals and families have immigrated to the United States in search of a better life for centuries. Others also come here to seek refuge from harsh living conditions. This is what makes the United States seem so diverse, with many different cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds. Despite this, there are many Americans who are racist and xenophobic, and have issues with immigrants from Latin America, even though their own families once immigrated here generations ago.
Let’s talk about this rise in hatred and xenophobia that has been affecting our country, particularly in recent years.
A major part of of Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign was his promise to bring down illegal immigration, and building a wall on the United States and Mexico border. These “promises” added fire to his campaign as many Americans believed immigration is an imminent problem. Through divisive rhetoric and propaganda, Trump supporters and Nativists came to believe (or were re-affirmed in their belief) that immigrants from Central and South America, especially Mexico, were stealing their jobs.
According to the US Department of Homeland Security, Trump allowed more people to come into the United States temporarily for work, but made it more difficult for people to settle here permanently. The amount of permanent visas went from 1.2 million in 2016 to about 1 million in 2019, and this has affected people who wanted to join their family members who are US citizens. In addition, the number of refugees admitted to the US was a record low. And we saw this directly affect refugees from Middle Eastern countries, as Trump placed a Muslim Ban on various nations in North Africa and Southwestern Asia. The Trump Administration also separated numerous families at the border, and many children were cruelly left unaccompanied and to suffer in cages. These actions encouraged many to go against these xenophobic policies, placing immigration once again at the center of the General Election.
On the campaign trail, some of the executive actions that Biden promised to take once in office were to get rid of the Muslim Ban, reunite families, and slow down deportations. Although he did take actions to do these things, the Biden-Harris administration has also deported hundreds of individuals in the past month and a half. Both President Biden and Vice President Harris have vocally gone against Trump’s immigrations policies, but are still deporting people, even during a pandemic. Their actions remind us that it is crucial to remember that the people in power are still politicians, and instead of idolizing them we must hold them accountable, advocating for policies that aid immigrants and refugees. The Biden Administration needs to hold up his promises, stop deportations, abolish ICE, and set quickly set forth a path to citizenship. Lives depend on these actions.
Editor: Cecilia Fiorindo
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