The Trump administration has reinstated racial quotas for immigration, targeting countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean, as well as eastern European nations. The Department of Homeland Security claims that immigrants from these countries are at "high risk" of relying on welfare and becoming a "public charge." However, experts argue that this justification is economically flawed, pointing out that most immigrants have been legally disqualified from cash welfare since 1996, and those who do qualify for benefits use them at lower rates than non-immigrants.
The list of targeted countries bears striking similarities to the racial quotas established in the 1924 Immigration Act, also known as the Johnson-Reed Act. This law was championed by eugenicist Albert Johnson, a Ku Klux Klan member, and set caps on immigration based on nation of origin. Asian immigrants were largely excluded, while African admissions were capped at just 1,200 people per year.
The current administration's rhetoric echoes that of the past century, with President Trump claiming that immigrants are "poisoning the nation's blood" and preferring certain countries over others. The Johnson-Reed Act was designed to keep America white and restrict migration, and its effects were felt for decades. Immigration to the US dropped from 13% foreign-born in the 1920s to less than 5% in 1970.
Today, 15% of people in the US are foreign-born, and the country is 57.8% white. The Trump administration's mass deportation vision is driven by concerns about the nation becoming majority non-white by 2045. However, experts argue that this agenda has nothing to do with economics or immigrant criminality, but rather is a thinly veiled attempt to whiten the nation.
Historical precedent shows that refugees have been denied entry in the past, and even after the horrors of the Holocaust were revealed, the US took in only 200,000 Jewish refugees. Adolf Hitler praised the Johnson-Reed Act in Mein Kampf, and today's proponents of the mass deportation policy are echoing these sentiments.
The article highlights the need for resistance to such policies, drawing parallels with the civil rights movement, which fought for equality under the law. The author emphasizes that the work of this movement continues, and that we must organize and protest against systems that perpetuate racist reasoning and deny humanity to all people.
The list of targeted countries bears striking similarities to the racial quotas established in the 1924 Immigration Act, also known as the Johnson-Reed Act. This law was championed by eugenicist Albert Johnson, a Ku Klux Klan member, and set caps on immigration based on nation of origin. Asian immigrants were largely excluded, while African admissions were capped at just 1,200 people per year.
The current administration's rhetoric echoes that of the past century, with President Trump claiming that immigrants are "poisoning the nation's blood" and preferring certain countries over others. The Johnson-Reed Act was designed to keep America white and restrict migration, and its effects were felt for decades. Immigration to the US dropped from 13% foreign-born in the 1920s to less than 5% in 1970.
Today, 15% of people in the US are foreign-born, and the country is 57.8% white. The Trump administration's mass deportation vision is driven by concerns about the nation becoming majority non-white by 2045. However, experts argue that this agenda has nothing to do with economics or immigrant criminality, but rather is a thinly veiled attempt to whiten the nation.
Historical precedent shows that refugees have been denied entry in the past, and even after the horrors of the Holocaust were revealed, the US took in only 200,000 Jewish refugees. Adolf Hitler praised the Johnson-Reed Act in Mein Kampf, and today's proponents of the mass deportation policy are echoing these sentiments.
The article highlights the need for resistance to such policies, drawing parallels with the civil rights movement, which fought for equality under the law. The author emphasizes that the work of this movement continues, and that we must organize and protest against systems that perpetuate racist reasoning and deny humanity to all people.