By: Rebecca Miralrio
Since the establishment of the United States and its immigration system there have always been flaws. It is a constantly evolving system where catering to a ‘select few’ is not something new. Regardless, to this day, immigrants of color are treated profoundly differently and unfairly compared to those who are of European descent.. There is a distinction in the detention centers, deciding who is and isn’t deported, and the rights and privileges they have. Clearly, the United States was formed as a vessel for the immigration of Europeans. As stated on ballotpedia.org “Proposition 187 was designed to prohibit undocumented immigrants residing in California from using public healthcare services except in cases of emergency, social services, and public schools”. Laws and acts like public health law Title 42 (allowing any customs official to implement any orders issued by the CDC when they see fit) and the California proposition 187 attest to the biased views the U.S has against nonwhite immigrants. Many choose to turn a blind eye to immigration when it involves those who are white. According to “Brookings.edu”: “In sharp contrast to today’s undocumented population, “illegal” European immigrants faced few repercussions...The few not covered by a statute of limitations or amnesty had another protection: until 1976 the government rarely deported parents of US citizens. There were no immigrant restrictions on public benefits until the 1970s.” It was not until immigrants from other areas of the world other than Europe began arriving in the U.S. that restrictions and laws were put in place. Even so, European immigrants would not have to concern themselves with the consequences of the new laws. On the other hand, according to Charles Kamasaki, “Restrictions on access to public benefits came next. Amidst a highly racialized debate, in 1971 then-Governor Reagan pushed through a sweeping California welfare reform plan that denied benefits to unauthorized immigrants.” This was the result of the influx of immigration from Asia, Latin America, and Africa. As soon as immigrants of color became the majority, the privileges white immigrants had were not available to them and several restrictions were put in place to prevent them from obtaining them. On the rare occasion that an illegal European immigrant was detained, they were simply deported or put in some of the more civilized detention centers. Yet, illegal immigrants from Latin America, Asia, or Africa are subject to cruel and inhumane treatment. In “How We Rise US immigration policy: A classic, unappreciated example of structural racism” Kamasaki states, “Today’s undocumented immigrants of color face far harsher consequences for their offenses than their white predecessors. First, they’re much more likely to be apprehended… Once apprehended, there is no statute of limitations for unlawful status.” Even while committing the same crime, entering the country illegally, white people are seen as less of a threat because of their skin color. Hence, they are treated better than people of color. The only immigrants that Americans accepted were enslaved Africans because of the unpaid labor they provided which made them money. According to the New York Times, “The Immigration Act of 1917 created an Asiatic Barred Zone that extended from the Middle East to Southeast Asia. The Immigration Act of 1924 further cut the total number of immigrants allowed in each year, and made permanent strict quotas in order to favor immigrants from northern and Western Europe.” To reiterate, the racism ingrained in the morals of Americans has created faults in the immigration system of the United States. Despite the U. S. being a country historically famous for welcoming immigrants (“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”), history and even more recent events show that it has never wavered from being a safe haven for people of European descent, to the near exclusion of all others. Sources :
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