In his efforts to restore the supposed greatness of the United States, Donald Trump has launched an offensive against migrants, mostly undocumented but also some with documents.
Shortly after re-entering the White House a week ago, the US president signed a series of executive orders designed to fulfill his campaign promises. These orders have included the rounding up of migrants signaling the start of what the White House Press Secretary has called “the largest mass deportation operation in history.”
Furthermore, a ‘Muslim Ban-Plus’ has been announced; It goes even further than the 2017 order, which prevented citizens of certain Muslim-majority countries from traveling to the United States.
Foreign students in the United States who dare to speak out for Palestine also risk being put on a plane back home. Additionally, the president of the United States has frozen asylum and refugee programs; At least 25,000 Afghans waiting to move to the United States in Pakistan are now in limbo.
For Trump and his MAGA support base, these moves are necessary to preserve what they see as the American way of life. The fact is that all over the world, the far right tends to blame foreigners and migrants for all of society’s ills.
And as history shows, such developments have happened before too. For example, Chinese people were prohibited from entering the United States under the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.
For the atavist in Donald Trump, these are likely models worthy of emulation for restoring America’s “greatness.” However, it should be noted that Trump himself has a close connection to migration. His wife Melania was born in Slovenia, which was part of Yugoslavia, while his late ex-wife Ivana was born in communist Czechoslovakia.
If the directives that President Trump is advocating for had been in effect, then both women from socialist countries would likely have stayed out of the United States. Clearly, the American leader has no problem with all migrants.
He once observed that the United States should admit more people from countries like Norway, and not Haiti and El Salvador. Perhaps the color of one’s skin, and the religion one follows, are the key determinants of what qualifies as a “good” migrant in Trump’s world.
Immigrants from around the world have made the United States what it is today. However, these realities are very important to the champions and supporters of Trumpism. Trump’s moves are likely to fuel greater racism and xenophobia in the United States, as all foreigners will be seen as standing in the way of America’s greatness.
Basically, the United States is following the lead of Europe, where the far right has practically declared war on migrants. People around the world seeking to reach American shores must now accept the new reality: Trump has pulled out the welcome mat.
Published in Dawn, January 27, 2025
