Photo by Andrew Schultz on Unsplash Is the Asylum Bar Too High?
Ali, Undergraduate Student (UM-Dearborn) Over the past decade there has been an alliance forming between immigration and criminal law. However, this binding of alliances suggests that the criminalization of immigration is becoming a prevalent practice now more than ever. Immigration law cannot exist without interfering with criminal law because immigrants are required to comply with the law or they risk deportation. This basically means that any crime committed by an immigrant risks their immigration status of being jeopardized as well. The issue I would like to bring to light here is the fact that immigrants are pushed into a vulnerable position of facing deportation. This is very important and needs to be addressed because innocent immigrants who adhere to the law could still be criminalized by government officials and law enforcement. To give a perspective of how widespread this problem is, “Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested about 143,000 aliens and removed more than 167,000 in 2019” (Appel & Morse 2020). Each year, the U.S. asylum system offers protection to thousands of persecuted individuals. However, in addition to the zero-tolerance policy that generated family separation, other measures taken by the Trump administration have narrowed the criteria for asylum eligibility. Ultimately, immigrants who have a visa, non-immigrant visa or green card, and/or are in the process of seeking citizenship through naturalization must be extremely cautious as to not step out of line with the criminal justice system. One immediate and effective solution to this problem would be to start with the Department of Homeland Security. The DHS could equip the asylum system with the means to do its work effectively by changing how the asylum processing takes place at the U.S/Mexico border. Asylum officers could conduct a screening interview to determine if an applicant has a “significant possibility” of establishing eligibility for asylum. Those who pass the interview shall then be allowed to enter into the United States where they can apply for asylum before an immigration judge. This would lessen the chances of innocent immigrants risking their status by making some kind of mistake with the criminal justice system. Immigrants would be more successful in establishing their desired status in the U.S. if they properly follow the process of the criteria given by the asylum system. As far as a long term solution goes, the U.S. should help Central America by fostering a more stable economic system. As Meissner and Pierce (2019) summarize, “Until Central Americans can experience political stability and citizen security in their home countries, political turmoil, gang violence, corruption, increased climate, agricultural challenges, and weak economies will drive people to seek better life prospects. Migration is one of the answers to which they will invariably turn.” These solutions are definitely easier said than done. But in order to help immigrants from wounding up in a vulnerable position of being deported there must be a concrete foundation that is willing to protect them and hear them out before denying them and sending them on their way. References: 1. Doris Meissner, Sarah Pierce. 2019. “Policy Solutions to Address Crisis at Border Exist, But Require Will and Staying Power to Execute.” Migrationpolicy.org. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/news/policy-solutions-address-crisis-border-exist-require-will-staying-power 2. Morse, Appel. 2020. “What Is Crimmigration?” Appel & Morse. https://www.appelmorse.com/blog/2020/june/what-is-crimmigration-/
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Photo by Nitish Meena on Unsplash "Illegal Aliens" Hurt US Workers - True or False?
Malvina, Undergraduate Student (UM-Dearborn) Imagine a world where the number of people outweighed every single job in a country. All blue-collar jobs are taken, all corporate jobs are taken, all service industry jobs, and manufacturing jobs are taken. Imagine not seeing a “now hiring” sign or not being able to find any jobs ads searching online…and it was all due to “illegal aliens” stealing US jobs. Many people may hear this statement and believe it, while others might be skeptical-and rightly so. We often hear that “illegal” aliens take jobs away from Americans, are “criminals” and don’t pay taxes. Yet, is any of this true? Did people just make this up? Do “illegal aliens hurt US workers?” Some may say “well, if there are more foreigners here to work, the fewer jobs there are for Americans.” They view immigrant workers as inherently creating more competition in the job market. However, this is a myth. First, most jobs verify an individual’s eligibility to work in the US as part of the hiring process, and most undocumented immigrants can’t pass this eligibility requirement. Indeed, when foreign workers are hired legally, the process is quite lengthy and involves multiple government checks to make sure there is no US worker that can perform the job, the job is valid and a skilled specialty, and finally, is needed. Second, immigrants are not a tax burden. On the whole, they actually contribute significantly to US taxes, yet are not often eligible to apply for government benefits. Undocumented immigrants are ineligible for public assistance, and even those with a valid immigration status face roadblocks to such benefits. In fact, there are rules restricting the amount and type of public assistance that immigrants with valid visas and “Green Cards” can obtain, even if legally eligible, in order to eventually naturalize. Third, most undocumented immigrants work jobs that most Americans avoid. These jobs tend to be physically demanding and pay very little (often less than minimum wage, which is, itself, illegal). These jobs offer few, if any, benefits and very limited stability. The US economy is big enough for everyone to work and all the myths associated with undocumented workers stealing jobs from US workers are just that--myths. Photo by Alejandro Cartagena 🇲🇽🏳🌈 on Unsplash Ripping Apart Migrant Families
Zaineb, Undergraduate Student (UM-Dearborn) Migrant kids are crossing the border of hope and opportunity with bruised feet and only the clothes on their backs. After several days of an on-foot journey of fleeing from the country whose violence is at a peak and a decent life wasn’t attainable, they were met with systematic racism. A country that would have its President call them and their families “rapists and criminals,” a country that would not only deny them entry but would rip them apart from the only family they knew. The very family that they thought would bring them a new life would now be scattered in several across several holding cells. Children as young as eight months old would now be crying in a jail-like cage, where there were no caretakers aside from teens and not even a decent blanket to sleep on. At the very beginning of the Trump administration, President Trump signed a “zero tolerance” policy that would separate everyone crossing the border without authorization—migrants didn’t even have to have a criminal offense. This policy was put into place to “instill fear” into the families trying to migrate so that they wouldn’t even bother crossing. This was a policy that allowed the US Government to rip parents away from their children with no warning or remorse as they were to wait for their hearing to either be granted asylum or be deported. The separation of migrant children from their families affects real lives—and it is all in the hands of the US government. Time and again, our country has demonstrated that it does not view immigrants as humans, with family separation being one of the most egregious examples. The emotional, physical, and psychological health of these families has been put in jeopardy. The families that experienced separation may never get over it. On top of the terror that the US government caused with respect to this policy, there was also a total lack of accountability. Although officially short-lived, the damage done by family separation has yet to be resolved. The Trump administration did little to ensure that all those who had been separated would be reunited with their families. In fact, the US government only began reuniting separated children and families after a court ordered it to do so. Moreover, reports of family separation at the border continued through 2020. Migrants at the border deserve aid, they deserve to be with their families. If they are awaiting an immigration court hearing, they should be allowed to wait with their families. One way to help solve this problem would be to build detention facilities that are family safe and allow the children to stay with their parents. Better yet would be to pass strict policies that protect the rights of migrant children and families. In the meantime, remaining children and families that have been separated should be reunited immediately—they do not deserve to be treated as less than. References: 1. Bochenek, Michael G. (2019). “US: Family Separation Harming Children, Families. 5-year-olds Held without Adult Caregivers.” Human Rights Watch, 1-3. https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/07/11/us-family-separation-harming-children-families 2. Rodhan, Maya (2018). “Here are the Facts about President Trump’s Family Separation Policy.” Time, 1-3. https://time.com/5314769/family-separation-policy-donald-trump/ 3. Southern Poverty Law Center (2020). “Family Separation under Trump administration- a timeline.” Souther Poverty Law Center, 1. https://www.splcenter.org/news/2020/06/17/family-separation-under-trump-administration-timeline#2017 |
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