The United States has a long-standing history with immigration, from the founding of our country to the millions who come to America in search of the American dream. However, although almost every American’s origin is rooted in some form of immigration, our country’s government has currently and historically harbored negative opinions towards it. If constituents are told that immigration is the main issue with the country, they won’t focus on who is truly at fault: their own governments.
This has been amplified today in the ways the Trump administration has worked to propagandize immigrants as criminals. Uprooting, attacking, and singling out the minority amid the crumbling United States economy and rampant unemployment. The rise of anti immigration sentiment has brought about a new wave of targeted attacks against suspected “illegal aliens,” creating a harmful us-against-them mentality and paving the way for the justification of increased surveillance from the government.
America is no stranger to anti immigration viewpoints, as it was used as a common political tactic to incite fear in citizens. If we look back in history, immigrants were exploited as scapegoats to either justify actions of the government or gain political favorability. Take the Chinese Exclusion Act, at the height and eventual fall of the Gold Rush, where Chinese immigrants were blamed for economic turmoil. Or the horrendous actions enacted against Japanese citizens during WWII, after the American government labeled them as national security threats and locked them into internment camps. They used threats of Japanese immigrants to increase military presence and validate war efforts. Regardless of the issue at hand, it is clear that the United States uses immigrants to push its own agenda in the face of leadership failure.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, (ICE), actually dates back many years prior to the Trump administration, following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Created just two years later, the program aimed to target and investigate threats of terrorism against the United States. ICE has since transformed, especially over the last several years, into large-scale immigration enforcement. Working towards rallying immigrants, or suspected immigrants, into detention centers and sending them to unknown countries under the guise of protecting the U.S.
By painting immigrants as threats, the administration has been able to steadily increase surveillance, police presence, silence minority voices, and reinforce racialized stereotypes
Looking beyond our own borders, anti immigration opinion is being shoved down citizens’ throats with the purpose of blaming whatever issue is plaguing their country. Amsterdam, for example, is dealing with massive protests demanding affordable housing and liveable wages. Dutch leadership responded quickly, blaming immigrants for their economic instability.
These trends reveal how fear can become transformed into political authority. Recognizing these patterns can help protect future populations from turning against their own neighbors and hold governments accountable.