Introduction: The Complex Reality of Immigration and Deportation
When American citizens see an immigrant, illegal or not; how do they view the immigrant? There's evidence that suggests some people fear immigrants; some people believe immigrants are bad for the economy. Some people believe that all immigrants are a threat to the U.S. However, most immigrants are helpful to the economy and can start many small businesses that employ U.S. citizens. Although some immigrants have a criminal record or may commit a crime, not every immigrant is like this. The question is, are citizens viewing immigrants as people, or are immigrants viewed as aliens? After all, illegal immigrants are named aliens by some; it would only make sense for some people to take this term too seriously and stop feeling empathy toward them. With many adults, children, and families being broken and detained, left for dead without a second thought; one is only left to wonder where the ethics of this great country went, and with the new immigration policy the effects on the economy are detrimental. These acts are also immoral as Batra states, “The forced separation of immigrant children... is simply immoral...” (Batra p. 575)
The Human Cost: Separation and Trauma
After the current president was elected, Donald Trump, one of his first actions was his new immigration policy; this policy required that all immigrant parents if illegal, must be prosecuted. However, I do agree with him about how the U.S. needs immigration control, it is necessary. As the U.S. government stated in the first immigration law in 1882, “...regulation of immigration a federal responsibility.' So, Trump is right that it is especially important to ensure that all immigrants are not only safe in the country but safe themselves; this includes humane living conditions for those that may be deported. Although trumps new policy did in fact get many illegal immigrants out of the country, it left countless children without parents; and without a parent, these children would be forced into the foster care system. The children parentless and alone in an unknown country would be terrified and undoubtedly left with harmful phycological effects.
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Questioning the Ethics of Deportation Policies
When children have to deal with traumatic events, they often affect them for years. As the authors in this article state, “Children whose parents were detained or deported (whether the child returned to Mexico or stayed in the U.S.) were more likely to report depressive symptoms, negative mood, physical symptoms, and negative self-esteem.” (Zayas Par. 10) The negative effects of deporting a child's parent are undeniable, I do not believe that it is worth it to deport someone and leave a child alone. “A child’s risk of... depression, anxiety, and severe psychological distress increases following the detention or deportation of a parent.” (Lori p. 620) Children are affected much worse than adults are as they are more fragile, the mental effects will likely affect them for longer times and much harsher. The ethics of a policy willing to abandon a child to these kinds of physical and mental effects must be questioned. It is not only immoral to do this to a child, parent, or adult, but also disregarding their lives. The current immigration policies are ignoring the human aspect of immigrants and merely viewing them as an object that must be removed; the policies are ignorant and harmful to not only children but all immigrants.
Economic Contributions of Immigrants
Obviously, children require a loving environment for proper mental development; some immigrant children having to grow up knowing their parent may be or was deported, will have excruciating mental effects on the child. “Parents’ legal vulnerability, detention, and deportation are strongly associated with depression, anxiety... aggression, withdrawal and... among children” (Zayas Par. 9) I believe the worst thing that could happen to a child or parent is that they are separated, parents put everything they have into making a good life for their child. Leaving children with negative effects like these should be illegal, I believe policies should be changed to be more human; I consider the current policies to be inhumane towards immigrants. Is getting one immigrant out of the country worth leaving a child with trauma? “The forced separation of immigrant children... is simply immoral...” (Batra p. 575)
Obviously, immigration policies need to be changed, as immigrants can be helpful to the economy; some of them could start businesses or save lives as a doctor. Sometimes people argue that immigrants are a threat to the economy of the U.S. However, immigrants are immensely helpful to the economy, they not only have the opportunity to provide new skills to the workforce but can also create their own workforces. Immigrants provide diversity, stirring a possibly stagnate economy and new workers. The article Kubrin wrote shows how unique immigrants' rates really are and what they could be capable of bringing to the U.S., as he states, “...immigrants helped to stabilize and revitalize Miami’s economic...institutions...strong familial and neighborhood institutions...as well as enhanced job opportunities...” (Kubrin p. 4) In Miami, the immigrants helped to bring new workers and new job positions. They created their own jobs for anyone, including U.S. citizens. Therefore, immigrants are not a threat to the economy and are rather helpful. Immigrants have the chance to not only help an economy but also save one. “New businesses and... entrepreneurs that create... are “engines of job creation” for the American economy.' (Killawi p. 2) Killawi is right in saying entrepreneurs are the engines of job creation, and a lot of immigrants start businesses, therefore immigrants are part of the engine of job creation.
Bill Clinton once said, “More than any other nation... America has constantly drawn strength and spirit from wave after wave of immigrants. In each generation, they have proved... the most industrious of people... they have strengthened our economy, enriched our culture, renewed our promise of freedom and opportunity for all….” Immigrants are helpful, and not only that but America was founded by immigrants and they made a great country; helping more people find a good life here, start businesses, and join the workforce would only be beneficial to the U.S. After all, As George H.W. Bush said, “Nearly all Americans have ancestors who braved...oceans... liberty-loving risk takers... Immigration is not just a link to America’s past; it’s also a bridge to America’s future.” Having immigrants in the U.S. to help start businesses and help the economy will only further benefit the U.S.
Xenophobia: A Barrier to Objective Assessment
The disregard for children, immigrants' businesses and jobs, and immigrants' safety all lead back to xenophobia. Xenophobia is the fear of foreigners, and this could cause people to be hostile or lack empathy for immigrants. When I look out in the world, I see people scared of Muslims because of some terrorists that happen to be Muslim. This is a rather obvious case of xenophobia, because although the fear of these people has a very good reason behind it; it is irrational and generalizes all Muslims as terrorists with no evidence. When immigrants come to the U.S. legally and try to get a job, if the employer has xenophobia the immigrant will have an exceedingly small chance of being hired. This could go the same way with immigrants starting businesses or just trying to live their lives. As they constantly face discrimination and hate, it is obvious the lack of empathy towards them is because of xenophobia.
A good question to ask is whether are immigrants a threat to America's safety, or is America a threat to the immigrant's safety? A good point for disagreeing that immigrants are not a threat is that cities housing them have higher crime rates. Are the crimes theft to feed the immigrant families or hate crimes from people with xenophobia? Immigrants do not actually have a significant effect on the crime rates of cities they are in, “...which finds that immigrant concentration has a null or negative relationship with neighborhood crime rates.” (Kubrin p. 18) Kubrin writes this to show that immigrants are not a threat and should not be feared. Therefore, claiming that immigration has an adverse effect on crime rates is just not true and is harming the immigrant's reputation. With lies like these forcing immigrants to suffer it is obvious xenophobia and ignorance have a big part in the discrimination against immigrants.
Conclusion: Rethinking Immigration Policies for a Humane Approach
Immigrants are helpful in many ways. They could become doctors and save lives, start businesses, provide jobs for people, and join the military to help fight for America's freedom. Deporting all illegal immigrants could severely affect the economy and mental health of many. This could cause a lot of unease in the country to see people shunned like this, and cause trauma to children with illegal parents. Not only could deporting a child's parent leave the child alone but also could cause distrust in the government, for good reason; it is obviously immoral to separate families. Overall, the pros of changing the current immigration policies pros outweigh the cons; the very few terrorists, criminals, or future criminals in the millions of immigrants are not worth ruining thousands of children's and adults' lives. There are businesses that provide jobs for U.S. citizens, and possibly doctors or soldiers and deporting citizens' parents could stop these things from happening.
Works Cited
- H., Luis Zayas, and Laurie Cook Heffron. “Disrupting young lives: How detention and deportation affect US-born children of immigrants.” American Psychological Association, Nov.2016, https://www.apa.org/pi/families/resources/newsletter/2016/11/detention-deportation. Accessed 19 Nov. 2019.
- Akram, Susan M. “The Past as Present, Unlearned Lessons, and the (Non-)Utility of International Law.” North Carolina Journal of International Law & Commercial Regulation, vol. 44, no. 3, Summer 2019, pp. 389–424. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=lgs&AN=136937345&site=eds-live&scope=site. Accessed 17 Nov. 2019.
- Batra Kashyap, Monika. “Unsettling Immigration Laws: Settler Colonialism and the U.S. Immigration Legal System.” Fordham Urban Law Journal, vol. 46, no. 3, June 2019, pp. 548–579. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=lgs&AN=137189095&site=eds-live&scope=site. Accessed 19 Nov. 2019.
- Lori, Nessel. “Deporting America’s Children: The Demise of Discretion and Family Values in Immigration Law.” Arizona Law Review, vol. 61, no. 3, Sept. 2019, pp. 605–640. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=lgs&AN=139070216&site=eds-live&scope=site. Accessed 19 Nov. 2019.
- Killawi, Yasser. “Preserving an Entrepreneurial America: How Restrictive Immigration Policies Stifle the Creation and Growth of Startups and Small Businesses.” Entrepreneurial Business Law Journal, vol. 8, no. 1, Jan. 2013, pp. 129–157. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=lgs&AN=93583943&site=eds-live&scope=site. Accessed 19 Nov. 2019.
- Kubrin, Charis E., et al. “Different than the Sum of Its Parts: Examining the Unique Impacts of Immigrant Groups on Neighborhood Crime Rates.” Journal of Quantitative Criminology, vol. 34, no. 1, Mar. 2018, pp. 1–36. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s10940-016-9320-y.
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