In this essay, I want to inform people about U.S. law policy issues that are applied to migrants, undocumented people, and U.S. citizens. U.S. law policies became an issue for migrants when the United States immigration law enforcement which started with the Chinese Exclusion Act was based on race and was unjust to Chinese Laborers. Over time more policies were set in place to target people because of their race and ethnicity. Moreover, people today are targeted because of their documentation and are treated horribly by law enforcement.
Looking at the past, America’s deportation system was seen as rooted in racism and injustice. When the United States wanted to limit immigration, the first national law passed by Congress was the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882. The first law prohibited a national, racial, and ethnic group. It was a time when the Chinese population increased in the U.S. In 1882, the Chinese were barred from immigration for ten years. When the Chinese Exclusion Act was about to expire, they passed another law the Geary Act in 1892. Geary Act extended it for another ten years. By chapter three City of Inmates, “in 1892, Geary Act required all Chinese laborers living in the United States to register with the federal government or be subject to arrest up to one-year imprisonment at hard labor and then deportation”(pg.64). The main reason for this act was to prohibit and limit the number of Chinese people entering the U.S.
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It's important to know that the Chinese Exclusion Act was a racist law to hide its economic agenda by abusing a specific ethnic group of people. When we look back from now on these laws it makes us feel disappointed and shocked because judging people by their race is treating them unequally. This immigration issue doesn’t just apply to the past but the present as well, U.S. policies are controlling people by their race and religion. The exclusion of Hispanics and Muslim immigrants becomes one bigger topic of the political conversation. When these laws/policies that the U.S. enforces target a specific race it becomes a “racist” policy. Excluding people from a specific country is telling us how the U.S. is trying to control immigration.
Law enforcement officers use excessive force against people, especially migrants and people of color. Thousands of cases across the U.S. have been reported where people have been abused by an officer illegally without any reason, as police brutality remains one of the most serious human rights violations. The evidence of unjustified police shootings, severe beatings, rough treatment, and mass incarceration rates among a certain race is outstanding.
Despite the tremendous amount of evidence, police misconduct towards migrants and people of color remains invisible. Not only is society ignoring the violence blacks experience at the hands of police officers, but we are also ignoring the racial profiling that happens within the courtroom. The role that race plays in the criminal justice system is crucial to understanding the disproportionate number of black people in prison compared to white people.
In today's world where law enforcement agencies have a lot of impact on our society. Law enforcement agencies keep our society safe by providing patrolling, catching criminals, and cyber-watching through the internet. Criminals have a state of mind that they won’t commit any crime if a police officer is patrolling or is at the corner. Crime against people based on race, color, ethnicity, and religion has increased in the United States. Law enforcement agencies should eliminate crime against people based on race, color, ethnicity, and religion because people are being targeted based on race, color, ethnicity, and religion.
In recent times one of the most horrific incidents that occurred in the United States was the shooting of a black male Philando Castle who mentioned that he had a licensed weapon. This is one reason that law enforcement should be used to eliminate violence against people based on race, color, ethnicity, and religion. Philando Castilo got pulled over by a cop then he mentioned that he was carrying a licensed arm but the police officer shot him in front of his girlfriend. The police officer denied the fact that he had been told about the gun he claimed that he thought that the black male was carrying a gun in his hands so in fear he opened fire, however, the girl denied the fact saying “ She said Castile had been shot while reaching for his ID after letting the officer know he had a firearm” (What the police officer who shot Philando Castile said about the shooting) this shows how the officer saw him as a threat because he is black and shot him. In the aftermath of this shooting, there have been a lot of debates going on in the United States about what would have been the result if the guy had been white; some people undoubtedly said that it would have been a lot different because the law agencies don’t see white people as a threat as they see other migrants.
Racism has been rooted in the people of the United States. People are getting targeted based on race, color, ethnicity, and religion. In recent times people have considered migrants as a threat and others such as white people as heroes. This shows how people are treated based on race, color, ethnicity, and religion. As law enforcement agencies their job is to keep all people safe regardless of their race, color, ethnicity, and religion and to see them all as equal but; that's not happening as officers are being told to go hard on migrants evidence of this is “Multiple police officers in Brooklyn say they were told by a commander that white and Asian people should be left alone. At a police station tucked into an end-of-the-line subway terminal in South Brooklyn, the new commander instructed officers to think of white and Asian people as “soft targets” and urged them to instead go after blacks and Latinos for minor offenses like jumping the turnstile, a half-dozen officers said in sworn statements.” (‘I Got Tired of Hunting Black and Hispanic People’) This shows how unfair United States law agencies are getting as they are judging people based on race, color, ethnicity, and religion. This is not permissible in a country in which the Declaration of Independence states that “All men are created equal” For this reason, law enforcement agencies should eliminate crime against people based on race, color, ethnicity, and religion.
Even the president of the United States is freely racist and discriminates against Latinos and Muslims. He put a “Muslim ban” on at least 7 countries, stating that no more people should come from those 7 countries for “national security.” There were riots and protests for days because this act was so horrendous and uncalled for. He targeted people of a specific religion and ethnicity and passed a law that targeted them. He shook the whole world with this act and caused chaos. Even today brown people are searched “extra” at the airports by law enforcement just because they might be “terrorists.” Racism is at an all-time high and hate crimes against Muslims, Latinos, and blacks are also on the rise. Law enforcement also contributes to this because of the lack of care.
Law enforcement such as ICE is terrorizing Latino families by “hunting down” illegals and putting them in what most people call modern-day “concentration camps.” This is not what America stands for, our forefathers came to America to escape a corrupt government, and now decades later the government is terrorizing people who are trying to better their lives by coming to the United States. Because the president is so against Latinos hate crimes have also increased against them. In the article “The ‘Forgotten’ History Of Anti-Latino Violence In The U.S.” it states “ The rate of hate crimes against Latinos in the U.S. is at its highest in nearly a decade, according to an annual report by the FBI. The report revealed 485 hate crimes against Latinos in 2018. That’s 58 more than reported the year before and surpassing those against Muslims and Arab Americans.” Hate crimes are at an all-time high and no one is talking about this and it is going on nationwide.
Many don’t see a problem in these acts that the president is passing because they believe it is justified. The president states that “we are protecting the freedoms of law-abiding Americans, and we are going after the criminal gangs and cartels that prey on our innocent citizens.” To the president and his followers, they are making America “great again” by kicking out illegal immigrants and banning Muslims until “they know what’s going on.” A study it shows that “in the first 100 days after President Trump signed executive orders on immigration enforcement, immigration and customs Enforcement and Removal Operations compared to the same time last year.” The president has arrested and thrown out illegal aliens and is still to this day planning on building a “Great Wall” that will keep the Mexicans out. Many say that migrants should come legally and that it’s their fault for being here illegally. And so no one sees or cares about how the illegals are treated in this country and even after so many protests ICE continues to destroy families. Trump's supporters see nothing wrong with what’s going on because they believe it’s all justified by the president's statements.
Throughout the United States' history, there have always been controversial laws that have targeted people of specific races, religions, and ethnicities. From the Chinese Exclusion Act to the Muslim ban. The force that is used to target these people is horrendous and not much is being done to stop this. Our president is targeting people due to their ethnic backgrounds and religious beliefs. Prisons are filled with African Americans and Latinos, Muslims are being banned and discriminated against and nothing is being done. The protests are being ignored and the president has divided the country more than ever. Even Latino/black citizens are being discriminated against no one is safe. The violence against the people of the United States by their own government and law enforcement must stop.