Mass deportation, a betrayal of American values
I am a white, privileged male apart of a society that has done everything it can to benefit me. Despite that, my true roots lie hidden underneath the privilege that clouds the vision of many people who occupy the majority. My roots extend far beyond the borders of the United States, though. Where I am at today was made possible by the chance my grandparents took to travel across the Atlantic from Europe with the hopes of a better life. All they needed was a chance and to be welcomed with open arms, something that today’s immigrants have been excluded from.
In November of 2014 President Obama announced substantial changes in the way that the federal government would enforce immigration laws. At that moment, the tide seemed to shift significantly for the United States and the way that we would treat immigrants. Although, one crucial aspect of the deportation policy fell under the radar. Obama’s new policy would only apply to those who had entered into the United States before the start of 2014, excluding the estimated 100,000 immigrants and refugees that fled from Central America across the U.S. border over the summer. As a result, instead of starting 2016 with compassion, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have targeted and detained over 100 families for deportation in the first weekend of the new year.
While the situation on the surface is heartbreaking enough, the move is in stark contrast to Obama’s most recent position against refusing the acceptance of refugees fleeing civil war and violence in Syria. Obama has not observed the commonalities between the violence that refugees are fleeing in the Middle East with the violence in Central America. In both regions, poverty has spiked severely, access to crucial resources has grown increasingly more difficult, armed groups have taken control and elected officials have become more corrupt. Consequently, the inhabitants of these communities have been displaced and are seeking refuge outside of these dilapidated regions.
More recently, Obama made an executive order yesterday for new gun control orders that would expand background checks for buyers in response to the mass shootings that have occurred under his tenure. During his speech, tears streamed down his face as he remembered the children from the Newtown, Mass. shooting. He also referenced his hometown of Chicago and all of the children and families that have fallen victim to gun violence. Though, with the mass deportations his administration is turning a blind eye to another community trying to defend themselves from severe gun violence.
According to the InSight Crime Foundation and a report conducted by Mexico’s Centro de Estudios Sociales y de Opinión Pública (CESOP), an estimated 2,000 weapons illegally enter México from the United States every day. Those same weapons that Obama vowed to contain are the same ones that are being utilized by the drug cartels and forcing children and families to be displaced in Central America and turned into refugees in the United States. There’s no doubt that Obama made a much needed decision today regarding gun control, but his compassion needs to extend to every community that is affected, regardless of their status within our country.
Furthermore, after the immigration crisis of 2014 where the U.S. saw record numbers of immigrants fleeing across the border, the Pew Research Center concluded in a report that more non-Mexicans than Mexicans were apprehended at the U.S. border in 2014 for the first time on record. Obama’s administration has argued that these apprehensions will help to deter other migrants and force them to think twice before crossing the border. Although, as we saw with the surge of unaccompanied minors attempting to cross the border in 2014, the risk of the treacherous journey and potentially dealing with human smugglers far exceeds the imminent death that awaits these people if they were to stay in their homelands. It’s hard to see any logic in the idea that sending people fleeing violence back to violence would do anything to deter them from returning.
Additionally, this is not an issue of immigration enforcement, but rather a refugee crisis that needs to be addressed before more harm is done. In 2006, former Mexican president Felipe Calderón launched a massive crackdown on drug trafficking organizations with the help of the United States. Since then, Mexico has erupted with violence and the many drug cartels that operate in Mexico have arguably grown increasingly more powerful and violent. Last summer, the Mexican government released data that showed that between 2007 and 2014 more than 164,000 people were victims of homicide. What’s more unsettling is that these numbers don’t reflect the hundreds of thousands of people that have been disappeared at the hands of the drug cartels and the Mexican government since the introduction of the so called war on drugs. Immigrants and refugees from Mexico and Central America are not just simply searching for a better life, they are fleeing impending death.
The United States made many decisions this past year that were at times extremely progressive, but also deeply disturbing at others. While I am not saying there aren’t plenty of issues that need to be addressed and resolved within our borders, I am saying that we cannot turn our backs on these individuals fleeing violence and death, not now, not ever. During times like these it’s important to revert back to the humility that connects us all rather than dwelling on the things that a select group of people want us to focus on to keep us apart. The United States has done so much over the past year to ensure that we are on the right side of history with the help of President Obama, but our recent treatment towards immigrants and refugees from Central America has us venturing towards the wrong side of history.
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Parker Asmann is a 2015 graduate of DePaul University with degrees in Journalism and Spanish, along with a minor in Latin American and Latino Studies. He is currently residing in Chicago while focusing on issues of social justice and human rights. He is a member of El BeiSMans Editorial Board.
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