With Election day being a week away, the political scene is abuzz with excitement (or despair). Both sides of this two-party system are giving their last blast of energy to push to the finish line. Besides all the glaringly wrong things with this election, there have been a number of issues that have not been discussed by the candidates or the way that they have been discussed is problematic. One of those issues is- you guessed it- immigration.
When it comes to immigration discussions, you’ll hear from the democrats that the US needs “comprehensive immigration reform,” and you’ll hear from the republicans that the US needs “tighter border security.” Unfortunately, with Donald Trump, that republican sentiment has been condensed into his plan for this “mighty” wall that is going to stop people from emigrating to the US. This rhetoric is clearly racist, and I don’t think there’s much that needs to be said about that which has not been said already.
I believe that this issue lies in what is meant by “comprehensive immigration reform.” This phrase has been used since my entrance onto the political scene, and that was with the 2008 election of President Obama. I am sure that the phrase was used long before then, but with the election of President Obama, it seemed like there would be significant change across the board. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. According to an ABC News Article from August 2016,
“Between 2009 and 2015 his administration has removed more than 2.5 million people through immigration orders, which doesn’t include the number of people who “self-deported” or were turned away and/or returned to their home country at the border by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)”
2.5 million people. How is deporting 2.5 million people bringing us closer to “comprehensive immigration reform?” Of course, the Obama administration has brought us DACA and DAPA, but it is alarming that this paradox exists in the course of his administration. This should’ve been addressed during this election season. The ICE raids that are largely responsible for a large number of these deportations should’ve been addressed. The lack of legal representation that more than half of children have in immigration is a crisis that also should’ve been addressed. “Family detention centers,” which are arguably another name for immigrant prisons should’ve been discussed.
I could go on because there is more out there that needs to be discussed, but it is clear that the immigration discussions this election cycle have been underwhelming. With how important of an issue immigration is, we can’t afford to leave it at “comprehensive immigration reform” or “build a wall!” A wall is just completely ridiculous, and you can’t have comprehensive immigration reform with various injustices towards immigrant populations taking place in the background. There is way more to immigration reform that a path to citizenship. Is that important? Yes! Is that the only thing that immigrant communities need from the government? No!
As such, I urge anyone reading this to really examine the range and depth of immigration issues in this country. I won’t say pick who to vote on solely based off of that but please recognize that either way, we have SO much work to do in regards to immigration issues. We cannot let all these issues be swept under the rug the same way that they were throughout the election season. We cannot continue with “steps forward” while simultaneously taking steps backward that has occurred under the Obama administration.
Here is hoping that various immigration-related movement continue to grow, and we are able to truly bring about and influence the REAL change that is needed.
Note: This is not to say that other unspoken issues such as education, health, and climate change (to name a few) are less important than immigration. They should have been discussed as well, but this post just seeks to speak to the lack of depth in discussion on immigration.
Migration Station 