I can’t count the number of times that I have been told, reminded of, or remembered that the United States is supposedly to be “a nation of immigrants.” For a while, I believed (perhaps naïvely) that each and every American was proud of their country’s multiculturality, its racial and ethnic diversity, seeing that reality as a symbol of strength, not weakness. Although the United States is nowhere near being the most ethnically diverse country in the world, it certainly has been portrayed that way, a rhetoric that I believe is meant to paint racism as being a thing of the past.
Pride in diversity symbolizes progress, a distancing from a brutal past of racial oppression, and a recognition of the positive influence of immigration on society. People of different races grouped together are pictured in college leaflets, posted on company websites, and up until recently, included in governmental displays. In school, children learn of Ellis Island, of how the Statute of Liberty is a beacon of hope for those attempting to immigrate here, a statue inscribed with a stanza from Emma Lazarus’s “The New Colossus.”
It is simple yet profound: “Give me your tired, your poor your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” To be empathetic to the struggles of others, give hope to those who make the difficult decision to uproot their lives, and find beauty in the inclusion of other cultures in American society is supposed to be our duty as citizens. That is how this nation, and the American people are meant to be seen by the world.
I know that this pride in ethnic diversity and respect for the cultures of others is not, and has never been, a faucet of American patriotism. Rather, it is the opposite: hatred and fear of others, particularly those who are not white, or are undocumented, has become recognized as a defining factor of patriotism. This is certainly reflected in the defining message of Trump’s presidential campaign, and of his second term: on his first day in office executive order “Protecting The American People Against Invasion” was signed, a document marked by xenophobic misinformation and plans for significant changes to how immigration law should be enforced. Since then, the country has been rocked by the effects of deportations without due process, the random detention of student activists, and attempts to suspend the refugee process and asylum system.
On March 21st, an order was issued that called for the removal of the temporary legal status of 530,000 migrants, set to be effective on April 24th. Cuban, Hattian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan migrants were the only groups included in this number—as of March 6th, Trump was still deciding the fate of around 240,000 Ukrainians. Doing so puts these groups at high risk of deportation, forcing thousands to return to countries facing economic, political and social turmoil. Millions of others are afraid of the same: green card holders, those in the process of gaining citizenship, and even citizens of the racial groups being targeted publicly.
This is not an unfounded or unlikely thing to be afraid of: a father from Maryland with protected legal status was “mistakenly” deported to a supermax prison in El Salvador. Both ICE and the Trump administration blamed this heinous, traumatizing action on an “administrative error” and an “oversight.” How many more of these supposed mistakes will be made in the coming years? I am certain that in time, they will no longer be labeled as such: unlawful detention and deportation will become so commonplace that they require no explanation or attempts at reversal.
Deeming people as aliens, as a foreign invasion, strips them of their humanity and opens the door for violence and oppression. American patriotism predicated on an “us versus them” outlook, a battle against immigration, diversification and progressiveness. We are living in a time where children are a threat, hardworking families are suspect, and wide swaths of people are being labeled as a danger to American society. There is no evidence of this so-called “alien invasion,” because immigrants, regardless of legal status or ethnic/racial group have historically existed in this country, contributing to it positively in more ways than one. Find pride in this fact and use it as fuel in combating the actions of our increasingly authoritarian government. We must keep each other safe.
