{"id":4113,"date":"2020-10-02T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-03T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/?p=4113"},"modified":"2020-10-02T21:47:08","modified_gmt":"2020-10-03T07:47:08","slug":"does-trump-deserve-reelection-immigrant-communities-must-consider-his-immigration-policies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/2020\/10\/02\/does-trump-deserve-reelection-immigrant-communities-must-consider-his-immigration-policies\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Trump Deserve Reelection? Immigrant Communities Must Consider His Immigration Policies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Based solely on Donald Trump\u2019s immigration record alone, you would think finding a Trump supporter among immigrant communities like Hawaii\u2019s own Filipino community would be hard and way off the beaten track as we enter the General Election.

But Trump has his followers, even here. Some immigrants seem to think Trump\u2019s war on immigrants is not really directed at them but at illegals; or a more heartless but somewhat common outlook for other immigrants (even freshly arrived ones) is that their personal immigration story (themselves and family) is completed \u2013 so why worry about other future immigrants.

Then there are others who see immigration as a secondary or peripheral issue and they happen to like Trump on other areas. To them, they\u2019re willing to overlook his grotesque, mean spirited attacks on immigrants because these pro-Trumpers (some of them secret supporters) receive favorable tax breaks. Or there are other supporters who belong to a local evangelical church and have been indoctrinated to believe Trump really can do no wrong. That\u2019s what they do there, right? Talk about Trump \u2013 the reformed sinner \u2013 playing some prophetic role in turning back modern America to circa 1950s America, when simplicity, God, and the American flag waved in front of many households in the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

heartland.

More hostility against immigrants ahead<\/strong>
But before closing the door and ignoring Trump\u2019s massive makeover on the U.S. immigration system in just his first term (not convincing enough not to vote for him), immigrants (even fully naturalized ones) should reconsider, because who knows where he\u2019d be willing to go given a second term, especially since approval ratings would be the last thing on his mind with no third term in the wings.

Already about midway of his first term, remember that Trump expanded his anti-immigrant policies beyond the originally targeted illegals (the wall, cancelled DACA, family separation at the border) to include reforms to limit legal immigration (deny asylum seekers, reduce immigration entry by half, reduce visa holders, both skilled and unskilled workers visa, raise legal immigration requirements in English proficiency-education, change the entire immigration system to a merit-based, calculated system and veer away from family-reunification based immigration, limit green cards and citizenship to immigrants who receive government assistance, even temporarily suspending for 60-days most immigration and processing).

And if that wasn\u2019t enough \u2014 Trump already showed his true colors and went beyond the pale into political absurdity when tried to go after already naturalized citizens. By the way, a special new section within the Justice Department is still doing precisely that \u2013 looking for already naturalized citizens (some who have been citizens for many years) and hitting them up with deportations for fraudulently obtaining or failing to disclose information when applying for citizenship. Imagine the fear even naturalized citizens have had to endure in Trump\u2019s first term, thinking if they had made a mistake or overlooked something years ago, that they too could face deportation.

In 2017, 2,500 new denaturalization investigations opened. In 2018, the DHS created the Los Angeles office for denaturalization; and in 2020, the DOH opened a department dedicated to just this pursuit. Both former Republican and Democrat presidents have avoided denaturalization for the most part and only sought it in extreme cases. Immigration experts say this is one area Trump could expand further if reelected.

David Bier, immigration policy analyst at the Cato Institute was correct when he said, \u201cBottom line is that if you can ever lose your citizenship for any reason, you don\u2019t have equal rights and aren\u2019t a real citizen.\u201d

The facade of going after only illegals already has been lifted. That was a 2016 Election deception.

We see most unfair changes (or attempts) to immigration has been focused on \u201clegal\u201d immigration. Should Trump get a second term, this will most likely be the area of focus.

The traumatization of immigrants will continue. His nativist platform will shape policy and make it even more difficult for legal immigration. His hate rhetoric will continue to embolden racist Americans to express hatred openly toward immigrants and people of color. Data shows hate crimes have been on the rise since Trump\u2019s inauguration.

Naturalized immigrant or not, neither would shield you from racist vitriol, physical or verbal, you might encounter in your daily living going about your way at public spaces.

Overall toxicity and a feeling of not truly belonging will be pervasive in some communities, which would be turning back progress of diversity and acceptance.

And the big question mark is no one really knows how much farther Trump would be willing to go down the rabbit hole. What new hateful policy would he shove down via Executive Order. The new, soon-to-be 6-3 Conservative United States Supreme Court majority (Trump nominated three of them) would make it easier for Trump in a second term. And he\u2019s already had success in pushing the boundaries on immigration at SCOTUS his first term.

And voting Americans must never forget the immoral policy that amounted to government-sanctioned child abuse, of separating children (as young as toddlers) from their mother or father at the border. That was arguably the most un-American, inhumane act committed during Trump\u2019s first term.

Immigration should matter high up among other top issues<\/strong>
Besides the economy, usually a singular issue like immigration wouldn\u2019t make or break a presidential candidate. There are other issues: how well has the President handled\/is handling the COVID-19 pandemic; how is he responding to BLM, policing reforms and civil unrest; what about climate change. Is the president an autocrat? Has he been good for the economy? And on and on.

But back to immigration \u2014 immigrant communities ought to judge whether Trump should be given a second term based on his immigration policies. As immigrants, we owe that at least to ourselves and our community.

If our own immigrant communities throughout the U.S. are not caring and not making it a top issue given Trump\u2019s extraordinary efforts to make immigrants lives a living nightmare \u2013 why should any other group care, either?

Make it a top issue and go out to vote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Based solely on Donald Trump\u2019s immigration record alone, you would think finding a Trump supporter…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4102,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/trump-immi.jpeg?fit=840%2C473",840,473,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/trump-immi.jpeg?resize=150%2C150",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/trump-immi.jpeg?fit=300%2C169",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/trump-immi.jpeg?fit=640%2C360",640,360,true],"large":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/trump-immi.jpeg?fit=640%2C360",640,360,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/trump-immi.jpeg?fit=840%2C473",840,473,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/trump-immi.jpeg?fit=840%2C473",840,473,true],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/trump-immi.jpeg?resize=840%2C473",840,473,true],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/trump-immi.jpeg?resize=840%2C473",840,473,true],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/trump-immi.jpeg?resize=600%2C473",600,473,true],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/trump-immi.jpeg?resize=600%2C473",600,473,true],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/trump-immi.jpeg?resize=840%2C473",840,473,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/trump-immi.jpeg?resize=800%2C473",800,473,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/trump-immi.jpeg?fit=840%2C473",840,473,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/trump-immi.jpeg?resize=540%2C285",540,285,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/trump-immi.jpeg?resize=375%2C250",375,250,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"Editorials<\/a>","tag_info":"Editorials","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/trump-immi.jpeg?fit=840%2C473","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4113"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4113"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4114,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4113\/revisions\/4114"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}