Dear United States of America, why are we so angry at immigrants?
Since his first day in office, President Donald Trump has signed 50 executive orders, many of which concern immigration. Based on his turbulent campaign, this is not surprising. Trump is attempting to fulfill his promises on immigration and his “America First” mindset, even at the expense of our global standing.
Trump’s immigration policies conflict directly with his economic policies, including his promise to decrease American grocery prices and national inflation. After the flurry of changes and executive orders during the first few weeks of his presidency, we must ask ourselves: Which campaign promise will he truly fulfill? And more importantly, why are our grocery prices not going down?
The reason for our forgetfulness is the success of the Trump administration. President Donald Trump’s immigration orders are causing Americans to have amnesia about his promises about the economy.
One example of these executive orders that induce “amnesia” is “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” which was passed Jan. 20. This order underlines the unprecedented idea that birthright citizenship does not extend to all people born in the jurisdiction of the United States.
Birthright citizenship is outlined in the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Section one of the Fourteenth Amendment states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” While this may be phrased using the old-timey jargon of our country’s founders, the core principle of birthright citizenship is clear: Any person born or naturalized in the United States is a citizen according to our valued constitution — that cannot be argued.
This is the second time Trump has emphasized his hope to end birthright citizenship, despite it being clearly unconstitutional and absurd. Still, Trump’s attempt at testing the power of the executive branch in this manner is worrisome. Trump is striving to create chaos, fear and confusion so that immigrants who plan on crossing the border illegally are deterred. His strategy of deterrence is interesting, especially since it lacks a solution regarding immigration status and an altered legal immigration pathway without us recognizing it. The truth is, contrary to popular Republican belief, people do not just come into this country undocumented to commit crimes and cause unrest.
More importantly, though, the chaos resulting from these orders is a strategy to distract the public from the struggle of Trump’s economic policy. While the media is focused on his absurd attempts at rewriting the Constitution, we are not paying attention to the fact that these measures are hurting Americans’ wallets. If Donald Trump alleged that he would bring down our egg prices on his first day of office, why are we seeing an increase in our favorite breakfast items?
When all the undocumented immigrants are deported and no longer paying taxes, American taxes will rise. School taxes will rise when undocumented children are no longer attending public schools. In trying to keep up with all of these executive orders and obsessing over “The Gulf of America,” both the left and right are too distracted to have questions or qualms about the state of our bank accounts. As a college student, I see the prices rising at the supermarket, but I do not see the outrage that we saw in Biden’s administration. This is what worries me about the Trump administration. Trump is utilizing chaos as his only policy to confuse and distract Americans.
Economists are warning Americans that expelling undocumented immigrants, who make up about 5% of the American workforce, will harm industries such as construction and agriculture. This is not great for Americans, especially when about 7 in 10 American voters were upset with grocery prices and looking for a president who would decrease prices. Is this not hypocritical? If you are a Trump supporter who is happy with the new immigration policies, think about how you are being affected. Is this the economic outcome that you were looking for when you voted?
To start, it is clear that it is time to stop mourning the loss of the country we could have had. Kamala Harris lost the election, and President Trump won. Trump’s immigration executive orders should not be surprising; if anything, he is meeting the expectations of his promised immigration reform. However, it is interesting that immigration is an American priority issue at the moment when the majority of Americans are barely affected by these immigration policies.
If you are not personally affected by these orders, I beg you to consider the humanitarian consequences. There is a limitation of humanitarian parole, prevention of asylum seekers at the southern border and a lack of extending temporary protective services. Even if you believe that immigrants are criminals — that they are breaking the law and deserve to pay for their actions — take a moment to put yourself in their shoes. These are human beings who are attempting to achieve American status. It is time to recognize that being born in this country is something we all take for granted. Suppose you care about the law when you hear how immigrants are breaking it. In that case, you should care about the 47th President of the United States attempting to override a constitutional amendment.
So, America, will we continue to tune into our national politics and question the government that we elected into power, or will we tune out the noise of politicians and forgo our role as a strong civil society? No matter which political party you belong to, everyone should question an administration that is purposefully initiating chaos.
Sincerely,
Ava Vitiello is a second-year political science major and columnist for The News. She can be reached at [email protected].
