Assignment 16- sam chavez- Speech

Ever since the 2017 inauguration of President Donald Trump, combating immigration, legal and illegal, has been on the forefront of his agenda, and has been the root of countless legislation, and even executive orders. Only 5 days into his presidency, Trump signed Executive Order #1376 entitled, “Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements,” this executive order contains several sections which undermine human rights, including the expanded use of detention, limits on access to asylum, enhanced enforcement along the US-Mexico border, and the construction of a 2,000-mile border wall. Despite concerns by experts that the wall would be expensive, difficult to construct, ineffective in deterring illegal migration, harmful to the environment on the border, offensive to personal property rights, and a threat to the economic and social well-being of border communities, the construction of a “great wall” continues to be one of Trump’s most popular methods by which he thinks all illegal immigration will come an instantaneous halt. But the question that is most clear to me is- where did this negative stigma on undocumented and documented immigrants come from? And I didn’t have to look far for the answer, it was simply, our President. In a 2017 CNN interview, Trump said, “The Mexican Government is forcing their most unwanted people into the United States. They are, in most cases, criminals, drug dealers, rapists, etc.” The number of undocumented immigrants in the United States has increased millions in the last 10 years, so if what Trump had to say about them was true, we could easily conclude that the number of violent crimes would have risen as well, right? However, the exact opposite happened. Nationwide, there were an estimated 1.4 million violent crimes in 2008, while there were only an estimated 1.2 million in 2017. This stigma is not only leading to inappropriate legislation, but also to the almost brainwashing of some citizens. This is evident in the shooting of Hispanics in El Paso on August 3, 2019, when a white gunman at a Walmart attempted to shoot as many Latinos as possible before later surrendering to police. He murdered 22 people and injured many more. He told police he targeted Mexican immigrants and had produced a manifesto that declared “this attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.” Repeats of this event will only continue to occur until this stigma is attacked at its roots. Take Jorge Vargas for example. Now living in Santa Lucia Puebla in central Mexico Vargas was on the verge of being accepted by DACA-the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which allows some individuals with unlawful presence in the United States after being brought to the country as children to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation. Weeks before he was accepted, Vargas was arrested by ICE on his way to his full-time job, and deported under a month later, immediately following the birth of his son, whom he has not seen in 2 years. Now, Vargas rarely leaves his room, as all of his friends have been roped into drugs and gang violence. However, the question that most have is- why can’t people seeking asylum and citizenship simply enter the United States legally by acquiring a green card? Well, the answer is simple; immigrants such as Vargas are seeking asylum and work in order to escape gang violence, government corruption, and poverty. People say, why can’t they just “get in line” to enter the country. The simple answer is that there is no line. Legal documentation comes with a slew of fees, paperwork, etc that make it near impossible for most to gain legal citizenship. At present, the wait for a green card is upwards of 5 years and over $7,000 in fees. These wait times and staggering fees deter people from taking the legal route to citizenship, and as wait time and fees increase, entering the country illegally will only become more desirable to those seeking asylum. And unfortunately, Trump’s continued legislation will only make illegal entry more popular. Just this past Wednesday, the Trump administration expanded the list of crimes that would bar migrants from asylum to many small misdemeanor charges. With the route to legal citizenship only becoming more burdensome, the percentage of those seeking asylum illegally will only continue to rise. The problem most have with allowing undocumented and even some documented immigrants into the country is the fear that they will “take our jobs,” or “lower our wages.” However, in a 550-page report authored by Cornell economics professor Francine Blau, it is stated that they “found little to no negative effects on overall wages and employment of native-born workers in the longer term.” 

So i'm not saying we should open our country’s doors completely and let anyone at any time enter the United States, but I am saying that legislation is making legal citizenship more difficult and is the complete opposite of what is believed to be the most effective method to combat undocumented entrances. If the acquisition of legal papers such as green cards were made easier and more affordable, those seeking asylum would be immensely more inclined to do so legally. Making America great again is not only achieved on the backs of native-born citizens, but also, immigrants.

Works Cited

Anderson, Stuart. “Year In Review: The Most Significant Immigration Stories Of 2019.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 9 Dec. 2019, https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2019/12/09/the-most-disturbing-immigration-stories-of-2019/#1c333b5e1302.

Andrews, Rafe H., et al. “'When Deported, You Become Nothing'.” POLITICO Magazine, 19 Apr. 2019, https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/04/19/displaced-puebla-deportation-immigration-new-york-photos-226657.

“Executive Orders.” Federal Register, https://www.federalregister.gov/presidential-documents/executive-orders.

Ink, Social. “President Trump's Executive Orders on Immigration and Refugees.” The Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS), 14 Feb. 2017, https://cmsny.org/trumps-executive-orders-immigration-refugees/.

Kanno-youngs, Zolan. “Trump Administration Proposes Adding Minor Crimes to List of Offenses That Bar Asylum.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 Dec. 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/18/us/politics/trump-asylum-misdemeanors.html.

Miller, Ty. “DOES UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRATION INCREASE VIOLENT CRIME?*.” Wiley Online Library, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd (10.1111), 25 Mar. 2018, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1745-9125.12175?referrer_access_token=U44-odc4wEdSbg-CwL7D64ta6bR2k8jH0KrdpFOxC675wkWzF3Z1N4Dlc_IydRBgHbmudDKiy_RtS-D3H4ef5mDCITa4vXbQnRRxokrTWbm-7036kupHrFRroo5fpie6hpBDpzPSedglo-tcLeQhCR3ssx070MJ31-N2krmJQ_M=.