the dehumanization of undocumented immigrants
America’s government and citizens pride itself on its equal opportunity, forgiveness, and diversity. In our current immigration policies none of these qualities are shown. Currently there are 11.7 million undocumented immigrants. The goal for most undocumented immigrants is to live the American Dream. For many of them they have found refuge in America somewhere where they have hopes of safe living environments, education, and fair paying jobs. There have been many developments in immigration towards immigration reform but there are still many more strides that need to be made before America can claim it is a true democracy with equal opportunities for all.
One of the largest issues with American society today is this hero complex that America has. In many ways The American Government acts like we rescue other countries out of poor situations. However in many situations yes we may due some of the rescuing but we were also part of the destroying as well. An obvious example of this is the war in Cambodia. America has for many years hid behind their actions while not owning up for their mistakes. For many years The United States has brought harm to other countries and then pretended to assist others when they are in need because of the problems we caused. An example of this is the war in Cambodia, “Although Cambodia remained neutral during the war, the presence of these bases caused American military forces to bomb the country heavily, launching secret bombing campaigns beginning in 1969.” After the war ended, “More than 100,000 refugees later relocated in the United States, where approximately 175,000 people of Cambodian descent live today.” For many refuge was found in America. For many years these undocumented citizens were attending schools, working, and contributing like a US citizen. For refugee’s that came over at young ages they did not realize that they were not citizens. For juveniles who got arrested this became especially problematic. There were many people who got deported after serving their terms as juveniles that caused them to be labeled as felons.
In 2014 a movie titled Cambodian Son was released. It followed a man named Kosal Khiev who was a refugee from Cambodia who got arrested in America at the age of 16. After being in jail for 14 years he was then deported to Cambodia where he had not been since he was a baby. In many ways the movie allowed for a lot of the emotions behind deporting someone who was a felon but also a refugee. Through events like what happened in Cambodia and the role that America played in the war and refuge a democracy that America claims to have is not shown. America takes a lot of pride in its diversity but the difficulty of people getting in limits the diversity that America could have.
During the end of 2014 made strides towards creating opportunities for undocumented immigrants. Obama announced that there would be a new program which made strides towards deporting felons not families, cracking down on illegal immigration at the border, and criminal background and tax checks. The reasoning behind this new law is to allow undocumented immigrants that do not have criminal history to live freely in the United States for a period time so that their can be taxes paid back since ultimately United States does not have the funds to deport every undocumented immigrant. Ultimately this is beneficial to the United States since it creates the dynamic of a good undocumented immigrant versus a bad one. The new laws put in place puts immigrants against one another. In President Obama’s speech he announced that his priority is to deport felons not families. By saying this Obama dehumanized felons, claiming that they do not have families as well and confirmed previous accusations made about American prisons are not rehabilitative.
One of the largest issues with American society today is this hero complex that America has. In many ways The American Government acts like we rescue other countries out of poor situations. However in many situations yes we may due some of the rescuing but we were also part of the destroying as well. An obvious example of this is the war in Cambodia. America has for many years hid behind their actions while not owning up for their mistakes. For many years The United States has brought harm to other countries and then pretended to assist others when they are in need because of the problems we caused. An example of this is the war in Cambodia, “Although Cambodia remained neutral during the war, the presence of these bases caused American military forces to bomb the country heavily, launching secret bombing campaigns beginning in 1969.” After the war ended, “More than 100,000 refugees later relocated in the United States, where approximately 175,000 people of Cambodian descent live today.” For many refuge was found in America. For many years these undocumented citizens were attending schools, working, and contributing like a US citizen. For refugee’s that came over at young ages they did not realize that they were not citizens. For juveniles who got arrested this became especially problematic. There were many people who got deported after serving their terms as juveniles that caused them to be labeled as felons.
In 2014 a movie titled Cambodian Son was released. It followed a man named Kosal Khiev who was a refugee from Cambodia who got arrested in America at the age of 16. After being in jail for 14 years he was then deported to Cambodia where he had not been since he was a baby. In many ways the movie allowed for a lot of the emotions behind deporting someone who was a felon but also a refugee. Through events like what happened in Cambodia and the role that America played in the war and refuge a democracy that America claims to have is not shown. America takes a lot of pride in its diversity but the difficulty of people getting in limits the diversity that America could have.
During the end of 2014 made strides towards creating opportunities for undocumented immigrants. Obama announced that there would be a new program which made strides towards deporting felons not families, cracking down on illegal immigration at the border, and criminal background and tax checks. The reasoning behind this new law is to allow undocumented immigrants that do not have criminal history to live freely in the United States for a period time so that their can be taxes paid back since ultimately United States does not have the funds to deport every undocumented immigrant. Ultimately this is beneficial to the United States since it creates the dynamic of a good undocumented immigrant versus a bad one. The new laws put in place puts immigrants against one another. In President Obama’s speech he announced that his priority is to deport felons not families. By saying this Obama dehumanized felons, claiming that they do not have families as well and confirmed previous accusations made about American prisons are not rehabilitative.
America when it first began had an open immigration policy which allowed anyone who choose to come here to join. Through open immigration America became the country it is today. For many years the policies put in place when attempting to shut down illegal immigration across borders has been very time and money consuming. According to Jan Ting, a Temple professor who specializes in immigration, “open borders would save 18 billion dollar a year.” Not only this but by allowing more immigrants more people will be paying taxes and this will also bring more money into American economy. Limiting immigration policy is hurting the American economy more than helping it.
It would be close to impossible for America to ever agree to have open borders. However the current immigration system is unjust and unreasonable and it many ways only looks at the people they are deporting on piece of papers not their entire situation. So although it may be difficult for change to occur there are currently far too many undocumented immigrants to ever have the ability to deport all of them. Until America acknowledges the harm that they cause to other countries there needs to be refuge without later deportation for people who decide to come to America. In order for America to claim itself as a true democracy they need to acknowledge that this includes, "maximizing individual freedom and liberty" (Jan Ting, Temple Professor).