Iranian migrant, Shahab crossed the jungle passes of the Darien Gap, trekking through uncharted territory, with nothing but the clothes on his back. I can’t imagine being in this situation. Scrap the college education, expensive car and picture perfect family. The majority of us can’t even cope with the outdoors, bugs send us into a mental spiral, let alone crossing a jungle. But the fear of uncomfortability wasn’t at the forefront of Shahab’s mind. Immigration was his dream. Having risked life and limb to reach the United States, making it to the border alive, just to find out his future is no less uncertain. You might be wondering what happened to Shahab, I am too. It is more than likely he is still playing the waiting game, pivoting to adapt to the challenges the American government throws at him. He probably just cleared his calendar for the next 20 years, filling all the slots with court hearings, and customs tests.
Today, fewer than 1% of people who wish to permanently relocate to the United States are able to do so legally. So is America truly the asylum it claims to be? The “American Dream” is a phenomenon often presented to aspiring immigrants, as a promise of backyard barbecues and white picket fences. This phenomenon glosses over the harsh realities of the immigration process and the atrocities immigrants face before even reaching the country.
I urge you to question your perspective on the immigration system.
Many Americans assume that legal immigration pathways are realistic and accessible options for those seeking to join American society. In truth, however, the government’s restrictive criteria render the legal avenues available only in the most extreme cases. Immigration Lawyer, David J Bier explains, “legal immigration is less like waiting in line and more like winning the lottery: it happens, but it is so rare that it is irrational to expect it in any individual case.” If this is the norm, then America is not the refuge it once claimed to be.
As a result of this deeply flawed system, much of the immigration into the United States occurs through unauthorized means, increasing the number of undocumented individuals within the country. In response, government officials often focus on the forceful removal of undocumented immigrants, sending many back to the very things they fled from; poverty, persecution, inequality, abuse. This approach acts as a temporary fix rather than an effective solution, and does so in an unjust way. Rather than relying primarily on deportation, the United States must reform its immigration system to provide a fair and attainable opportunity for those seeking a new life.
It is ethically questionable to remove undocumented immigrants from a nation that promotes itself as a place of asylum while failing to make legal pathways genuinely accessible.
It is imperative that the immigration system as a whole is remedied, in order to provide a fair chance at a new life for millions of potential immigrants. America must address the barriers it has constructed within its own immigration system, approach immigration policy with a more humanistic perspective, and ensure that when deportation is deemed absolutely necessary, it is carried out with dignity and fairness.
When assessing immigration into the United States, it is necessary to analyze the preexisting system that is being the most utilized. The process of achieving legal asylum is treacherous and tedious, with numerous contingencies, and loopholes preventing aspiring immigrants from even reaching the country’s border. For those seeking asylum or refugee status alone, the general requirements are extensive, with all decision power falling into the hands of Asylum Officers or Immigration Judges. The notion that one person could seal a detrimental fate for a family of immigrants is flawed in of itself.
An Immigration Lawyer interviewed by CBS News explained that “the majority of asylum seekers end up in immigration court without attorneys because they are not legally entitled to one… most don’t know where to look for one much less afford one.” As an American who is intimately acquainted with the court system, I am aware of the immediate benefits defendants get in a court setting as a result of simply having a lawyer standing next to them. So shouldn’t equal access to Lawyers, or at least information be provided to all asylum seekers? This is one of the many flaws to the American Immigration system, that is continuing to give Americans a bad reputation amongst immigrants.
In the year 2020 “about 80 percent of people wanting to immigrate to the United States could not even attempt the process, and about 99.4 percent did not yet qualify that year.” So, of the 32 million asylum seekers, 25.6 million did not apply, and 31.9 million did not qualify. For a country that labels itself as generous, and open… these numbers certainly turn heads. Proponents of America’s current immigration system often use comparisons to other countries to portray the U.S. system as relatively open. However, contrary to what the traveling information portrays, when comparing the system to those of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Portugal, America misses the mark by a long shot. Immigration lawyer, Sheryl Winarick shared her experience with the Portuguese immigration system, highlighting that “unlike the US, Portugal’s immigration policy is driven by the needs of Portuguese people while remaining committed to the country’s core value, human dignity.” Portugal had successfully stricken a balance of maintaining strong border security, while viewing immigrants as humans, something America’s system desperately needs.
Portugal has embodied the definition of asylum, portraying it as legal protection granted by a nation to foreign nationals fleeing persecution or harm in their home country due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or social group membership. While the above definition mentions reasons that might influence one to flee their homeland, it does not begin to detail the atrocities faced by those seeking asylum. Think about it, would someone embark on this treacherous journey, just to be denied by the American government over and over, if they do not believe it is truly necessary? There are women running from oppressive dictatorships, men who are unable to provide for their malnourished family, girls being forced into binding marriages and expected to carry a child to term, all waiting to be accepted into America’s so called “asylum”. Immigration should be a source of hope for these individuals, yet it has become the very reason most stay where they are.
I urge you to question whether the American immigration system is bringing hope or ensuring a miserable fate for those in tyrannical countries.
Immigrants are not new to American culture, in fact America’s origin story is derived from an immigrant experience. In 1492 Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue, with the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria, ready to, in our words, “immigrate” to a new land. When the ship was docked, Columbus simply strolled onto inhabited land, claimed it as his destination, and sent for his friends to join him. Today, if an immigrant were to sail to America, stroll onto land, claim it as their own and send word to their family to join them, the American government would surely have an aneurysm.
But why is this now the case?
Historically, America’s borders were relatively open, consistently role playing as the world’s police officer and refuge. America’s population increased dramatically in numbers and diversity, until The United States passed its strictest immigration law of its time, the Immigration Act of 1917, two months before the US entered World War I. As a result, those running from the atrocities faced in their homelands were essentially told their one way trip was denied and they should turn right back around. America called for “border security”, a physical wall was put up with armed soldiers present day and night. As far as potential immigrants were concerned, America was no longer an option. Yet people still find loopholes today, to enter the country and try to get the american dream that is so heavily advertised to us.
As a result of this, the American Government has increased the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and immigrant removal agencies in civilian towns and cities. ICE agents have earned themselves a bad reputation, as they continue to patrol the streets with full head coverings and visible firearms, searching for illegal immigrants to deport. It is now common knowledge amongst immigrants, that something as simple as a traffic infraction could seal an unwanted fate for any “illegal alien”. Recently, Senate Democrats called out The United States Government’s current guidelines for ICE agents, questioning whether there should be stricter regulations enforced upon them. According to the New York Times, in the aftermath of two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens by federal ICE agents in Minneapolis, Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, presented Republicans with a specific proposal that Democrats said they would insist on. “The proposal presented a prohibition on federal officers wearing masks, they also demanded that the agents wear body cameras and carry identification. Their proposal would put an end to roving patrols and require warrants issued by a judge for arrests and searches.” Additionally, Democrats called for federal agents to be subject to the same use-of-force policies that apply to local and state law enforcement agencies, which require those involved in violent incidents to be subject to independent investigations if they are accused of wrongdoing.
Protesting ICE’s actions has not stayed within the bounds of the senate. Residents of Minneapolis and surrounding areas have drawn sizable crowds in several cities, including Los Angeles and Portland, Ore., and churches in the Twin Cities ringing their bells in support of detainees and protesters. Crowds continue to rally across the nation, protesting the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Evidence of these protests has even reached South Windsor, Connecticut, where residents continue to stand on street corners displaying signs reading, “hate has no home here”, “love to all” and “protect our precious constitution.” This call for peace is the anthem ringing throughout America. Yet in the face of this, ice raids are still occurring throughout the country, even in Connecticut. Reports of ICE raids located at car washes have been made in Hampton, Newington and Southington CT. A video taped aggressive arrest was made in the Stamford Courthouse Parking Garage, as an undocumented Colombian immigrant was wrongly charged with criminal offense as a result of his illegal presence in America. In reality, his offense was a civil offense, which is on the same severity level of J-walking. I J-walk all day every day. It is imperative that as American citizens, we take on a NIMBY mindset, and protect illegal immigrants from the advancing violence that is purely directed towards them.
Now, I am not simply stating that border security as a whole is evil. It is evident that many Americans feel quite the opposite. Of a margin of American citizens polled, the majority (53%) felt America’s border security has increased in effectiveness under the direction of the Trump Administration. US customs and border protection states a reduction in the number of gotaways by 95%, the seizing more than 165,000lbs of illicit drugs and a decrease in illegal border crossings by 95%. However, while border security has increased, this issue needs to be viewed from a humanistic perspective. These people are not just numbers, illegal immigrants are not “aliens” they are humans and should be treated as such. There should be better regulations regarding the system overall, including the process of removing an illegal immigrant. It should take the same amount of effort to remove someone from the country as admitting them does.
Migration is a natural right shared by all living things, so why don’t humans have that same freedom?
Monarch butterflies, humpback whales, wildebeests, emperor penguins and sea turtles are a few of the living creatures that freely roam the Earth, migrating from place to place, in search of better living conditions. People should have the opportunity to travel in search of a better life, they should not be forced to remain stagnant because of an external government’s instability and corruption. Right now, the United States often acts like a playground bully, excluding the new kid because of their appearance, background, or beliefs. Now more than ever, America needs to open its doors, and rethink what it means to be a nation that offers asylum, so that migrants like Shahab have a real chance at building a new life. Instead of focusing on policing the governments of other countries, we should turn inward, take action within our own borders, join protest movements, regulate ICE agents, and engage in serious self-reflection about how we treat those seeking refuge.
