Trump's immigration overhaul plan is unfair
Updated 10:17, 19-May-2019
Bobby Naderi
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Editor's note: Bobby Naderi is a journalist, current affairs commentator, documentary filmmaker and member of the Writers Guild of Great Britain. The article reflects the author's opinion, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.
U.S. President Donald Trump has tried everything to unify and rally his party and base to make sure he wins the 2020 election. This includes playing politics to implement severe immigration policies, build a “beautiful” wall on the Mexico border to stem the flow of migrants and refugees, and employ anti-immigrant voices in his administration.
The latest tool to push in this direction has to be a new proposal to overhaul the U.S. immigration system that favors “young, educated, English-speaking applicants” instead of people with family ties to Americans.
Trump's “big, beautiful, bold plan” has many flaws. The proposal eliminates immigration applications for millions of people waiting in family and employment-based green card backlogs. It doesn't allow people with temporary protection status to have a permanent status and citizenship. It limits refugees and asylum seekers fleeing conflicts. Instead, it seeks more money to build the border wall and new detention centers for deporting those who have come to the country illegally.
U.S. President Donald Trump unveils a new legal immigration proposal, which would prioritize high-skilled immigrants and restrict family-based migration, in the Rose Garden of the White House, on Thursday, May 16, 2019. /VCG Photo

U.S. President Donald Trump unveils a new legal immigration proposal, which would prioritize high-skilled immigrants and restrict family-based migration, in the Rose Garden of the White House, on Thursday, May 16, 2019. /VCG Photo

Little wonder human rights and immigration advocacy groups are not happy. They say the proposed plan throws international humanitarian law under the bus. It doesn't say how the government would deal with immigrants living in the country illegally and offers no protections for those who came to the country as children.
We have seen similar overhauls before; how security at the Mexican border was reinforced to prevent South American migrants and asylum seekers from crossing, how children were separated from mothers, and how border facilities were overwhelmed for weeks and months in a row.
It is true Trump finally signed an executive order to allow immigrant families to remain together in detention. But it's also true that the executive order doesn't guarantee separated families will ever be united permanently.
With or without Trump's newly-unveiled immigration plan, refugee children are still being taken from their parents and sent to separate military bases. Refugees and migrants are imprisoned in privatized or military detention centers as well. Under international human rights law, the practice is illegal and unconscionable.
U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) addresses a small rally on immigration rights at the temporary installation of a replica of the Statue of Liberty at Union Station in Washington, U.S. May 16, 2019. /VCG Photo

U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) addresses a small rally on immigration rights at the temporary installation of a replica of the Statue of Liberty at Union Station in Washington, U.S. May 16, 2019. /VCG Photo

Operating from misconceptions and false assumptions, Trump's executive order on blocking citizens of six Muslim countries from entering the U.S. is another example. The Muslim ban executive order reflects Washington's pledge to safeguard against what Trump says is a hidden influx of terrorists and criminals.
At any rate, Trump's new immigration overhaul is indefensible. He recommits himself to discrimination, and he can expect continued disapproval from Congress, courts, American people, and rights groups.
Tragically, history tells us the plan will still go ahead and remain in place after Trump, and it has nothing to do with Democrats or Republicans. Like many other discriminatory executive orders before him, Trump's immigration overhaul proposal will still target immigrants and refugees wholesale.
That's how things are done in Washington. First, it's just a proposal with critics and merits. But then it somehow becomes an unspoken law. The same thing happened with Trump's Muslim travel ban. It's still in place despite court disapprovals and widespread protests in the U.S. There is overwhelming evidence his plan is here to stay, too.
Migrant families recently released from detention arrive at a bus depot in McAllen, Texas, U.S., May 16, 2019. /VCG Photo

Migrant families recently released from detention arrive at a bus depot in McAllen, Texas, U.S., May 16, 2019. /VCG Photo

This is while it's not a crime to be a refugee and go to the U.S., and immigration court is not a criminal court. The Trump White House never says what they are going to do if Congress rejects the plan. At its core, the idea is to divide migrant families up and escalate the unending campaign against migrants and refugees.
What's actually happening here should be obvious. Instead of ending their interventionist campaigns in South America that only exacerbate the current refugee and migrant situation, the Trump administration wants to sweep the indefensible, discriminatory problem under the rug and call it “shifting the immigration process to a merit-based system.”
The basic fact remains. The U.S. government should commit aid toward development in Central America and Mexico. It should also end its interventionist policy. This way it can help develop countries in the region and limit illegal immigration.
The U.S. used to be a haven for people fleeing war and persecution: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses”. When it comes to practice, it no longer walks the talk.
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