Since President Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20th, the U.S. government has launched an assault on undocumented immigrant communities across the nation. With a promise of deporting millions as well as sending U.S. troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump and his allies have begun one of the harshest immigration crackdowns in U.S. history. With claims of immigrants (specifically those coming over the southern border) as “poisoning the blood of our country,” and insisting on labeling them as “animals” rather than humans, Trump has created extremely dangerous rhetoric surrounding undocumented immigrants and asylum-seeking migrants in this country. Despite unethical methods and the instillment of fear in the nation’s immigrant communities, nearly 60 percent of American adults approved of his deportation efforts in a recent poll. With this in mind, we as an American society must rethink how we view a group of nearly 14 million people who inhabit our country today – and fast.
Anti-immigrant sentiment isn’t a new concept. Nativism, or political policy referring to this sentiment, has existed in the U.S. since its conception. Entire political parties have been established upon anti-immigrant policy, such as the “Know Nothing” party of the 1850s. These groups, much like the present administration, have consistently subjected new waves of immigrants to marginalizing law and prejudice over the decades of their reign
It takes a quick check into any U.S. history book, however, to note that even the original pilgrims were immigrants, escaping religious persecution in England and that ultimately the U.S. is considered a “melting pot” of cultures, much to do with migration here for a better life.
With hard pushes on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other authorities to deport “millions” (with varying levels of success), Trump has continuously appealed to voters by generalizing those who come over the U.S.-Mexico Border and from elsewhere as dangerous or unwanted. He called migrants “rough people, in many cases from jails, prisons, from mental institutions, insane asylums,” and has even gone as far as to accuse Haitian immigrants in Ohio of “eating” people’s pets. While the latter claim was largely (and rightfully) ridiculed, the former, along with the idea that immigrants are “stealing” American jobs, has resonated strongly with voters, even so much so that the Democrat’s immigration standpoint was significantly closer to the Republicans in recent years. Yet, are these claims about jobs and crime true?
In short, no. Research done by the FBI between 2017 and 2022 showed no correlation between immigration and crime rate, and the American Immigration Council found as the immigrant share of the population from 1980 to 2022, the U.S. crime rate has dropped 60 percent. Additionally, studies show that there is actually a negative relationship between undocumented immigration and violent crime in the U.S.
So why, despite clear statistics, do politicians including our president, continuously characterize immigrants as such and still receive support for their false claims? There’s no easy answer, but as the economy has gone through some struggles post-pandemic, Trump and other political figures have been able to pin blame on immigrants, and thus foment hate.
But do immigrants really hurt the economy? Again, no. Consistently, economists have found that immigration often helps the U.S. economy, and as immigration rates lower, so will U.S. GDP. A common accusation is that immigrants and migrant workers take jobs from American citizens. This however, is also not true, and multiple studies have shown that not only do immigrants not take jobs from Americans, but often work jobs in sectors with labor shortages such as food, agriculture and construction work (often for much less pay). Undocumented immigrants also pay taxes, much of which goes towards programs they aren’t even eligible for (such as Social Security). This is especially true about immigrants coming from the southern border, who have been the main target of the Trump administration.
In today’s political environment, immigrants are framed often as the attackers, instead of the victims. Many come seeking safe haven, escaping violence or poverty in search of better opportunities. The same ancestors of the politicians who call for the new immigration policies came to the U.S. for the same reason. As Trump continues to crack down, by attempting to get rid of birthright citizenship and even recently cutting funding to legal aid for migrant children, Americans across the spectrum must rethink their views on immigration and migration. This is no longer merely a political issue, but rather a moral one. An integral value of our nation, and the “American Dream” as a whole is at stake, and we as a society must hold on tight before it’s too late.
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