Response: The President’s Remarks on African Countries and Haiti Amid Immigration Policy Discussion

On January 11, 2018, TIME gave a report stating that amid a bipartisan discussion on immigration policy and protections for children and young adults “illegally” in the United States aka. “Dreamers,” President Donald Trump questioned why there was immigration expansion for “s**thole countries” such as Haiti and African countries and that he would prefer immigrants from Norway or Asian countries that could more easily assimilate into American culture and benefit the economy (Beckwith). This also comes amid the President’s decision to remove DACA protections and the temporary protected status of El Salvadorians escaping violent conflict.

With the current situations within Africa, South America, and Haiti this type of thought towards those countries’ immigration to America is counterproductive to the world-wide refugee and asylum-seeker crisis. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) 2016 Global Report, 2016 marked a 16 year high in people of concern bringing the population to 67.7 million. Many of those people are located in the countries that the President mentioned. I am not going to say that this train of thought is unique to the President nor am I going to say that the thoughts were not held by previous Presidents or their cabinets. However, with the modern discussion on refugees and the best courses to manage the placement of these people, this type of thinking is counterproductive to the management of refugees.

As a global super-power and a nation that is a signatory on the 1967 Protocol enacted by the United Nations, we have a duty under national law to uphold refugee policy and promote their resettlement and integration here just as other, non-super-power countries, are already doing for the vast majority of refugees. It increasingly seems apparent that we as a country are beginning to see these people as a problem and not as a result of the real problems that they are escaping. Ultimately, much of the conflict that these people are escaping are the result of global super-power intervention in these countries. Due to this there is a moral obligation to help these people that is more than just international law and the Protocol. It is the right thing to do and in a time where the way of thinking is like the President’s, we retreat not just from international policy, but from our humanitarian obligation to provide for those seeking asylum or refuge.

Citations

Beckwith, Ryan. “Trump Called El Salvador, Haiti 'Shithole Countries': Report.” Time, Time,
          11 Jan. 2018, time.com/5100058/donald-trump-shithole-countries/.