Immigration Policy of Donald Trump

President Donald trump throughout his campaign leading up to his presidency has expressed his desire to fix what he liked to call a big problem in immigration policy. Such as building a larger wall at the United states Mexican boarder. December 2015, Trump proposed a temporary ban on foreign Muslims entering the United States. This Ban caused major concerns and cries for help leaving many stuck at the Airports. The Ban of only Muslims in the United States is illegal so therefore people were outraged.
As mentioned throughout Donald Trump’s campaign there were three core ideas he mainly focused on which I believe won the “White Vote” and those whom agreed with his views. “A nation without borders is not a nation. A nation without laws is not a nation. Nation that does not serve its own citizens is not a nation” (Donald trumps immigration plan PDF). Most can agree plenty have suffered and have risked their life’s to come into our country to work and achieve the “American Dream”.
America is the land of the free and we welcome everyone and anyone. According to Mark Kirkorian (2014) “Amnesty, is of course the most controversial part of any immigration plan. It permits illegal immigrants to keep positions that could be filled by Americans looking for full time work” (p.141).

However, jobs that these immigrants are working at, most Americans would not consider working or even have a desire to work at. Some may complain that jobs do not pay enough, price of living is expensive however if you came into this country with just the shirt on your back and are working to provide for your family those jobs are being taken with pride.
On January 25, 2017, Trump signed Executive Order 13768 which, among many other things, significantly increased the number of immigrants considered a priority for deportation. During Obama’s presidency, an immigrant ruled removable would only be considered a priority to actually be physically deported if they were convicted of serious crimes such as felonies or multiple misdemeanors.
When Congress passed the 1965 law, it hoped to protect not just immigrants, but also American citizens in general, who should have the right to sponsor their family members or to marry a foreign-born spouse without being subject to discrimination. Many Americans felt Trumps agenda was not American like and plenty did not agree which sparked large protests around the country, which definitely made a movement to protect those who fell under the term most call “immigrants”.
The Immigration Act of 1924 shortened the number of immigrants allowed entry into the United States through a national origins quota. The quota provided immigration visas to two percent of the total .The quota system which is a policy of shortening the number of minority group members in a business firm or school. Prior to the passage of the Immigration Act of 1882, the United States Congress had passed two significant acts regarding immigration.
The first was the Page Act of 1875, which restricted the immigration of forced laborers coming from Asia. “The clear aim of this law was to restrict the entry of immigrants from the southern and Eastern Europe while welcoming relatively large numbers of newcomers from Britain.” (U-S History.Com)
This order obviously arguably violates both a federal statute and one or more sections of the Constitution depending on whether the immigrant is already in the U.S. In the end, opponents’ best hope for undoing the order might rest on the separation of church and state. Trump’s order bars the entry of any refugee for 120 days, and Syrian refugees indefinitely.
It also bans citizens of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and Yemen from entering the U.S. for 90 days. This order can potentially affect more than 20,000 refugees, along with thousands of students nationwide which is definitely a major issue . Depending on how it is enforced, it could also impact as many as hundreds of thousands of green card holders, or immigrants with permanent residency in the US in fear of not being let back in if they are to leave and visit family members.
Many have disagreed and challenged the order in court. A U.S. District Court judge in Brooklyn, New York, issued a ruling that halted the enforcement of Trump’s ridiculous executive order the day after he signed it. According to Mark Karlin (2012) “The overwhelming majority of migrants from Mexico who seek undocumented entrance to the US are desperate, not gold diggers.
They are often victims of an indigenous subsistence agricultural and rural economy that is disappearing, due to NAFTA and US subsidized of American farmers, who can sell for lower competitive prices just south of the boarder” (p.121) Judges in at least four other states followed suit seeing this as a threat and how this can become a major issue with our new President. Trump’s supporters of course defend the order’s legality based on a federal immigration statute passed in 1952 that allows the president to suspend the U.S. entry of “any class of aliens.” I believe there are several major arguments that can challenge the legality of the order.
There is, critically, another federal statute that outlaws discriminating against a person regarding issuing visas based on the person’s “nationality, place of birth, or place of residence,” which Trump’s order is based on and claims it is not. This second statute was passed in 1965 and is more specific. Courts have enforced this anti-discrimination ban strictly. This is the strongest argument against President Trump’s order. But Congress can repeal the 1965 statute, as it can with any law. A Republican-controlled Congress might do that, however concerns have raised by some GOP lawmakers may make that unlikely.
Recent court orders placing a pause enforcement of the Trump order relied on a legal argument that it violated due process or equal protection under the Constitution. The due process means people receive safeguards, such as an advance notice, a chance at a hearing before a neutral decision maker and a chance to tell their side of the story before the government unfortunately takes away their liberty. Equal protection means that the government must treat people equally as they should always, and can’t discriminate on the basis of race, alien status, nationality, and other irrelevant factors.
Several people can agree with the Supreme courts view, even immigrants who are not citizens or green card holders have due process and equal protection rights, if they are physically here in the U.S.. That is why the recent court orders on due process and equal protection help only individuals who were in the States at the time the court ruled.
The repulsive manner in which the recent order was drafted and enforced, with no set chance for affected individuals to plead their case, maybe there are some valid due process arguments against the ban. But, those can be fixed by letting people have their say as that is the American thing to do. Once that’s done, the remaining issue is whether the executive order violates equal protection by intentionally discriminating against Muslims.
Trump of course denies the order is a “Muslim ban,” even though he called for exactly that during the campaign, and each of the seven countries subject to the ban is majority Muslim. When explaining why those seven countries were chosen, the order cites the Obama era law stating that persons who in recent years have visited one of these seven terrorism-prone nations would not be eligible under a “visa waiver” program. Similarly, says Trump, the defining characteristic here is terrorist danger, not religion. That’s why only seven of more than 40 majority Muslim countries are affected.
One big problem with Trump’s argument is that the order also seems to prioritize admitting Christian refugees which can certainly cause concern as to why they were singled out to be prioritized. By saying that once the 120-day ban on all refugees expires, priority goes to those of “a minority religion in the individual’s country.” Supporters can rightly argue this “minority religion”.
It never mentions Muslims or Christians. But, with the country-specific ban targeting seven Muslim countries, the two can’t help themselves to want to reach out and help Christians. However days before signing the order, Trump told the Christian Broadcasting Network he intended to prioritize Christian refugees.
Another argument against the president’s order which many will find interesting as well as agree. By picking favorites among religions, it certainly violates the separation of church and state under the Constitution’s Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Though Establishment Clause law, it basically states one clear point is that the government cannot favor one religious denomination over another, that is not what our leader should be doing.
This just might arguably be the most important of the constitutional rights. As mentioned to the big story on Trumps executive order “If the case does end up before the Supreme Court, it could prove difficult to find the necessary five votes to undo a lower court order. The Supreme Court has been at less than full strength since Justice Antonin Scalia’s death a year ago. The last immigration case that reached the justices ended in a 4-4 tie.”. (“Travel Ban Case” 2017)
In conclusion, I believe illegal immigrants should be allowed into America. These hard working immigrants are a vital part of the American economy, they contribute way more money to the government than they receive in benefits which is to me is incredible and it makes you wonder how they manage to make ends meat but want a better future. I feel as though current immigration policies are undoubtedly discriminatory.
It is Americas responsibility to insure that all people seeking freedom and a better life can have a chance to fulfill their dreams. Restrictive immigration policies are intrinsically discriminatory. Any immigration policy, except a completely open-door policy, is considered discriminatory to most.
Many Americans fear open border policies because of the rampant illegal immigrant stereotypes. Most people feel as though Mexicans are trouble makers. Some might feel jobs are being taken as mentioned before. Those who live in the US I feel are and should be well aware not everyone is willing to work nor do they have the desire to better themselves. By welcoming everyone and anyone into our beautiful country can help with economic growth and make our country into the hard working and friendly country we have been looked at as. Immigration also gives legal immigrants opportunities for employment as normal Americans, providing that they know English. I believe the stereotype of the lazy Mexican is untrue.
Me personally Ive never met a lazy Mexican in my life. If everyone were to ask an illegal or even legal immigrant why they came to this country I can be certain they will be honest with you and inform you they wanted a better life. Illegal immigrants have a positive effect on the American economy. History has shown that prosperity follows immigration. Trumps new rule on those whom are hoping to receive asylum into the US hasn’t been much of an uproar but im sure it will be. According to the Daily breeze “Last year US Citizenship and Immigration services which deals with asylum claims handled 94,048 cases, nearly double the 48,042 cases the agency handled in 2015 and more than 16 times the 5,523 cases in 2009.” (“Asylum rule”2017)
Illegal workers provide a flexible, low cost labor pool for United States companies, therefore allowing local companies to compete with inexpensive imports from cheap labor companies. The fear of being taken and losing everything you have worked so hard to build in a new country due to a new President would be devastating to those. Some have questioned if the new President is the modern day Hitler by which he wants to clean house firing a handful of those who once worked close to president Obama. Another issue is the fact that President Trump is slowly making it to become a dictatorship country such as what Hitler had done.
Our nations main priority should be to find ways, within reasonable national security policies, to welcome refugees not to just turn our backs on them and deny them sanctuary. Everyone has a dream when coming to America we should welcome them with open arms and boarders. We should also be reminded that many of the refugees from Muslim countries became displaced because of wars in which the United States has participated.
To conclude my research I would have to disagree with President Trump and all of his actions he has taken to place chaos inside the white house as well as in the United States. I along with plenty upset Americans would have to say I am personally offended by the disrespect and behavior our new leader if you will, has behaved. Presidents are meant to lead and be a voice of all people. However this is not what he is doing and is not taking his job seriously.
Immigration has given the United States some positive factors. As Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “Remember, remember always, that all of us are descended from immigrants and revolutionists” (Cornelius 197), which I feel is true, because if we were not here the United States would not be as prosperous as it is now these facts are true, I still feel that immigration should be restricted. We are all human of different Race, Color, Gender and religion, however this does not give the right for anyone to be treated unfairly or single any one out for their differences. God has created us uniquely different and if we all stick together we can make the positive change that we so deserve.
President trump as many have protested against in hopes for him to change and be a better president and fight for not one specific race but for all of the races will be determined. I feel as though he took on a job he can not fulfill and is causing more problems than what he is doing to help our country. “In 1948 Congress passed the Displaced Persons allowing more than 400,000 people made homeless by the war to come to this country” (Kennedy, 1962, P. 125).
America is and will always be a great country, our president does not define who we are as people individually and we all will fight for what is right. The news as well as judges do not agree on what he is doing and they have stood up for what is wrong in their eyes. This research has made me dig deeper into this situation and has made me realize how policies that may affect everyone can have a major impact to all.