America’s immigration system is not meant to keep immigrants out, but to keep non-white people out.
President Donald Trump is never screaming about Canadian immigrants on the northern border, because they are mostly white people. Immigration has always been a race issue, not an overpopulation issue.
“They’re taking our jobs. They’re taking our manufacturing jobs. They’re taking our money. They’re killing us,” Trump said.
Conservatives are upset someone who isn’t white is doing a better job than them. America was built on racism, from slaughtering Native Americans, enslaving Africans or deporting Mexican immigrants.
In America, we treat immigrants like animals. We lock them up in cages and don’t treat them like the human beings that they are. There are videos of children laying on the ground in cages in an ICE detention center. The fact that ICE was separating children from the their families in the first place is inhumane. This is a tactic that was often used during slavery. Separating children from their parents or separating husband and wife makes the two parties much weaker emotionally and more willing to follow direction.
Contrary to popular belief, most immigrants coming to America aren’t here to commit crimes and evade taxes. The majority of immigrants are fleeing their country in search of a better life for their families.
When people don’t understand why they don’t just “come over legally,” I don’t think they realize how long and expensive of a process it is. The application for naturalization is $725, which includes the $640 citizenship application fee and the $85 background check. That is a lot of money to someone trying to provide for their family.
The immigration process can also take years to complete, assuming each complicated step goes accordingly. You have to apply to get your green card, and after you’ve received it, you must have it for at least five years before applying for citizenship. Most people trying to become a citizen have full-time jobs and children to take care of. They don’t have the time to fill out paperwork and take tests.
Immigrating to America without citizenship is illegal, so U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents scoop these people up and place them in holding facilities. That is the law and they must abide by it, but it doesn’t make it right. People should have their own moral compass other than the law.
Ashlon Lusk is a 19-year-old mass communication sophomore from Houston, Texas.
