An important topic that comes up, especially during every presidential election, is that of immigration and border security. Over these past few recent years, the United States has seen a growing increase in immigrants. In the year 2023, the country saw its largest single-year increase of approximately 1.6 million immigrants. These growing percentages have caused concerns for both major U.S. political parties. Many immigration policies are expected to change under President-elect Donald J. Trump’s new term.
For example, regardless of whether it is legally feasible, Trump has expressed an interest in a plan that halts birthright citizenship. Trump has also stated he wishes to conduct mass deportations. At a July 2024 National Conservatism Conference, Tom Homan– his appointed “border czar”– claimed, “If you’re here illegally, you better be looking over your shoulder,” and that come Trump’s return to office, he will “run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.”
Many undocumented immigrants are now facing growing fears about safety and separation from their U.S.-born children or spouses as Jan. 20— the date when Trump takes office— approaches.
Hunter College is located in one of the most diverse cities, New York City, where the share of the immigrant population was nearly a quarter (in 2022). At Hunter College, approximately one-third of its student body consists of students who are immigrants (for the 2023-2024 year). Many other students at Hunter are first or second generation, or from immigrant families. Taking all this into account, Hunter College should take on a responsibility to protect and support its immigrant population. Additionally, all of us have the responsibility to educate ourselves in order to combat harmful anti-immigrant rhetoric and disprove immigration myths.
The language we use, in the media or everyday life, influences how we perceive immigrants.
There is an ongoing debate about the appropriate way to refer to immigrants who have entered the country in an unlawful manner. This is an important discussion to have, especially during these times, because as postdoctoral fellow Jonathan Kwan states, the words we use “often implicitly come with various associations or value judgments, which can, in turn, frame and influence political debates.”
Referring to this subset of immigrants as “illegal” or “illegal aliens” is not only harmful but also dehumanizing as the term implies that their entire existence is unlawful, and no human being’s life can be inherently illegal. No human is illegal; people cannot be illegal, but (their) actions can.
Therefore it is suggested to use more appropriate and neutral terms which include “undocumented” or “unauthorized” with the latter being more in favor as the former term does not encapsulate the complexity of the legal process.
When immigrants become the topic of conversation, particularly unauthorized immigrants, one common remark seems to always be present— that they should “just come in the right way.”
Though this comment is commonly heard, it is important to note that it oversimplifies the legal process and that it overlooks the fact that there are no clear pathways for undocumented immigrants who already find themselves in the U.S. to obtain legal status.
To legally immigrate, individuals must come through family-based or employment-based visas but demands to apply for these visas are higher than the slots available.
Additionally, even humanitarian protection is difficult to access.
Another factor brought up in the discussion of immigrants is the labor factor. While it is important to acknowledge the economic contributions of immigrants, it is also necessary to understand that the immigrant experience is not one-dimensional. It could become very easy to reduce immigrants as merely laborers when in fact they are much more than that.
For example, the 2015 Kelly Osbourne incident in which she believed she was doing a justice to immigrants by saying, “If you kick every Latino out of this country, then who is going to be cleaning your toilet, Donald Trump?” This moment, which went viral, reflects the one-dimensional belief of undocumented immigrants as workers who do “the dirty work” that others will not.
In response to recent talks of mass deportations, again this “worker” factor has been brought up. The language used makes it seem as though undocumented immigrants were allowed to be advocated for because they were important to the economy, because they were laborers, and not simply because they were humans whose rights deserved to be protected.
