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Article Review of By Haley Edwards’, “’No One Is Safe.’ How Trump’s Immigration Policy Is Splitting Families Apart”
The article by The Times Dubbed “Ripped Apart: The Cost of American’s Immigration Crackdown” discusses the immigration policy by Trump’s Administration. The author explores the details of this policy, its impact on undocumented immigrants, their families, and most especially the children. By employing the rhetorical devices of persuasion; pathos and logos, the author, Haley Edwards, aims to shed light on the adverse effects of this policy and to persuade the reader that the policy not only rips families apart, but has an everlasting effect on the children’s mental, emotional, and social health and affects various aspects of their lives.
This article discusses the 2017 policy on immigration that posited zero-tolerance for illegal immigrants in the nation. Trump’s solid stance on immigration was the main focus of his administration and the rallying cry of his administration. To date, his administration has made significant changes to immigration policies in the nation. For instance, immigration enforcement in the interior of the nation has been increased by extending enforcement priorities, by the elimination of temporary protection for some noncitizens, by the reduction of refugee admissions into the nation, and by banning the nationals of seven countries from entering the country stating security concerns. These high-profile policy changes have been subjected to debate since some of the citizenry does not agree with them. The author of this particular article does not agree with these policies stating it is not about the immigration policies of the Administration, but rather, the inhumane way these exercises are conducted. Instead of targeting violent offenders first, the new approach is indiscriminate, it arrests and/or deports persons with no criminal records, hardworking persons, doting parents, breadwinners, and community leaders.
Summary of the article
The article strongly disagrees with President Donald Trump’s immigration policy and gives emotional accounts of some families that have ripped apart due to this policy. The author mainly focuses on the story of Maria, Alejandro and their young family. She argues that although a hardworking man, a loving husband and father without any criminal record, Alejandro was arrested and deported to Mexico leaving Maria to fend for her kids alone and for the children to grow up without a father. The article also discusses other cases of families that have been separated due to this policy. Edwards’ employs pathos to tell these emotional stories to persuade the reader into opposing the Trump policy. The immigrant cases appeal emotionally. Edwards also uses logos to appeal to the reader logically. She uses statistics to compare the numbers of immigrants arrested and/or deported by the Trump and Obama regimes. She compares the two regimes stating that the Obama regime was more humanistic since it did not aim to deport all the 11 million immigrants in the nation but to deport the criminals first and to ensure that family members are not separated, especially for law-abiding immigrant families.
I do not think that this policy will in any way benefit America economically or in social issues such as crime. However, I think that it is vital for a nation to guide its boundaries and to control the people coming in. Therefore, there should be stringent measures to avoid a spike in illegal immigration in the countries. However, for illegal immigrants in the nation, more humane methods of deportation and arrests should be utilized. For instance, families should not be separated. The separation of families has a myriad of adverse effects on the family members’ mental health, emotional well-being, and affects the children’s ability to socialize, to learn and grasp educational concepts.
Analysis of the Trump policy: Good or not for the nation
Immigration is a historical issue that has affected the US since time immemorial. The history of immigration policies has shown that the country has always formulated policies aimed at ‘fixing’ a damaged economy damaged by outsiders, or because of the fear of strangers. However, despite all these policies, the number of immigrants has been on the increase, and this has resulted in a scare in some American politicians and citizens. However, measures such as closing up borders and throwing out immigrants are only short-term and biased responses to the issue. America requires a long-term solution that not only caters to the economic needs of the country but for safeguarding its citizens and the rights of the immigrants.
The Trump administration bases its immigration policies on the subjects of security and crime, protection of workers and laborers, and the economy. Today, most Americans believe that there is a strong correlation between immigration and crime. However, persons opposing these policies have stated that scientific and social studies underscore that the perception that immigrants promote crime is an anti-immigrant opinion that is entirely unfounded. Most of the adverse causative associations between property crime and immigration can be accounted for by the effects of immigration on the basic economic environment faced by the citizens. The decrease in violent crime rates is reasonably due to the low tendency of immigrants to commit crimes as they risk losing their right to stay in the US.
On the subject of jobs and employment opportunities, immigration creates a net benefit for the natives but this scenario can only be achieved if immigration allows for redistribution of the income of workers in competition with immigrants to people not in competition with immigrants and to employers, or those who own the capital. The net benefit of immigration is also reliant on the size of the economy and the characteristics of redistribution. The disadvantages of immigration are however, mostly felt by the poor since the poorest Americans are in constant competition with the immigrants, and they are more likely to be the most disadvantaged due to immigration. Immigrants provide cheap labor and thus most companies that use them end up making maximum profits.
In conclusion, Trump’s policy will thus not help the country in the long-run. Although it has the economic interests of the nation at heart, it is inhumane to the immigrant families. The first step to mitigate the immigration problem would be to identify what the real problem is, then find a suitable working solution. Currently, the US holds up to 11 million undocumented aliens, and this number grows annually. This is the problem the US is facing, and the risk to security rather than the threat of the economy. The country should employ and efficient Guest Worker Program that biometrically identifies all persons entering and leaving the borders. This program would give immigrants identification, and this would be crucial in hiring. This status, however, of a Guest Worker, should not accrue the individual social security benefits or citizenship. This would help mitigate costs incurred by the government due to immigrants. This solution would need a suitable structure to be implemented and concerted efforts from leaders of both parties. In so doing, problems arising from future waves of immigrants will be avoided.
Works Cited
BIBLIOGRAPHY Edwards, Haley Sweetland. “‘No One Is Safe.’ How Trump’s Immigration Policy Is Splitting Families Apart.” Times Magazine 8 March 2018. <http://time.com/longform/donald-trump-immigration-policy-splitting-families/>.
