Trump’s America Puts Up New ‘Keep Out’ Sign

This is the famous poem welcoming
immigrants to America. It is on the Statue
of Liberty in New York City.

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,                                                         I lift my lamp beside the golden door!“

It has never been easy for new arrivals. The immigrants who were already here always made it hard for the newcomers.

Even though his grandfather was an immigrant, Donald Trump does not like immigrants. Trump campaigned on a promise to close the door to undocumented workers from Mexico. Many agreed that it makes sense. But a wall at the U.S./Mexican border does not seem the way to stop most migrants. Thousands of undocumented people are already here on tourist and student visas.

It was a mistake to believe that the undocumented were the only Trump target. The next Trump target was people seeking asylum in this country. To receive asylum is a long process. Trump changed the asylum program. The old one let asylum seekers stay in the U.S. while awaiting asylum decisions. Now asylum seekers pile up in camps on the Mexican side of the border.

What else could Trump do?The answer was to ‘deny permanent legal status’ to a certain group. Most of the people in this group are relatives of U.S. citizens. They are people such as his wife’s parents. Trump is pushing to keep those relatives out.

A law already in place limits immigrants in their use of welfare, food stamps, and other programs. You cannot be in these programs for too long a time. Trump added those immigrants who might become a “public charge.” That is, they may need help from the government at some time in the future.

The Trump rule now says that applicants must show they are “self-sufficient.” The applicants must show they have money, relatives or friends that will keep them off welfare. Observers say the rule will discourage citizens from trying to get legal status for their non-citizen family members. That is Trump’s goal.

President Trump has made it clear he does
not like people from certain countries. For example, El
Salvador, and Haiti. Trump welcomes trained workers from other countries. These
are people who are good for business.

In Trump’s view, making money is more
important than helping families. This is not the way generations of immigrants
built America.

Source: The New York Times February 24, 2020