Racial Tension, Racial Tensions, And Dramatic Social Change

Fifty-two years after the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the racial tensions and geopolitical pressures within the United States continue to influence the policies of immigration. Since 1965, there has not been any major advancements in immigration policies, though with current President, Donald Trump, immigration policies are facing reforms. President Trump has followed closely with the ideals of past strict immigration policies in the America first attitude. Trump’s goals are to achieve three key objectives, that are, “to ensure safe and lawful admissions; defend the safety and security of our country; and protect American workers and taxpayers” (Office of the Press Secretary). With his newly proposed travel ban in effect, the country is eager to see how it will impact the United States and its relations with other countries.

Published by the New York Times under the Opinion section, the audience for this article is any interested reader. At the time it was released, November 18th, 2016, this article arrived during last year’s elections, in which a large, but surprising number of Americans voted for candidate Donald Trump, shocking many forecasters who had predicted otherwise. Therefore, after the election, many people may have been researching the demographics of the election, and this article, which briefly shared Brooks’ opinion on the nature of the election and how viewing others through the lens of a dominant identity influenced how the votes fell where they did, may have caught a keen reader’s eye. Also, this article came at a time where racism and prejudice caused many problems, leading some to view others as one-dimensional, represented only by a skin color or religion. Since prejudice and hate is still a large issue today, tackling this problem helps make this article relevant, nearly a year after its release.

On June 16, 2015, a long time television and real estate magnate by the name of Donald J. Trump opened his presidential campaign by uttering one of the most racially insensitive remarks in today’s time when he elucidated upon that notion that Mexican immigrants who come to America are not model citizens but rather rapists and murderers who undermine the legitimacy and economic fortitude of the American experiment. This racist and xenophobic remark illustrates just how entrenched the notion of white supremacy or as Walter Rodney would call it the “white cultural imperialism” ideology is inextricably tied to the understanding of our society today. Because of this problematic ideology, there must be some sort of opposition to fight against such

Donald Trump has suggested a “total and complete shutdown” of Muslims entering the U.S. While ISIS

When Donald J. Trump announced in June 2015, American media as a whole wrote him off as a joke. To the United States, he was nothing more than a temporary candidate, the butt of a couple lighthearted democratic jokes about the lack of republican integrity. However, in just a little over two months, Trump has figured out how to use our patriotic predilection for racially-based discrimination to build himself a throne at the top of a behemoth political empire. Donald Trump’s fallacious immigration plan and the responses of Trump’s supporters to this plan work together to unveil a disgusting truth: although the American Dream was constructed by immigrants, it has been deconstructed by the American people to make it nearly

I. Newly inaugurated President Donald Trump has recently approved a ban involving the restriction of travel into the United States of immigrants from seven Muslim countries. Since this ban is only for up to 90 days, this is just the beginning of a potentially longer or even permanent ban. This is not the first time he has demonstrated the lack of regard with social equality.

The election of Donald Trump has emboldened the forces of hate and bigotry in America. White nationalists, Vladimir Putin and ISIS are celebrating Donald Trump’s victory, while innocent, law-abiding Americans are wracked with fear – especially African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Muslim Americans, LBGT Americans and Asian Americans. Watching white nationalists celebrate while innocent Americans cry tears of fear does not feel like

Throughout the first week of THE 225, many events took place within America that took the country by surprise. Trump’s inauguration was last Friday, January 20th, and already he has made drastic changes that will affect the lives of millions. His policies are based off sexist and racist claims that people have, for some odd reason, supported. With his new, corrupt policies, life in America will soon be set back decades because of his white supremacy mentality. Because of this, the nation has never been so divided since the Civil Rights Movement, something that was seemingly done with but clearly not if white supremacy becomes an issue. Although Trump’s America is not an ideal America and his claim to “Make American Great Again” implies

Trump's presidency and supporters provide a startling insight into the fear of an erosion of whiteness as the cornerstone of what it means to be an American. The assumed fraying of the white identity that has provided privilege and fortune is terrifying to white Americans. White men, who live in luxury and privilege in an age of limited social mobility, have nothing literal to fear, rather their sense of dread hovers in the backdrop of their everyday lives. Their fear is linked to their presumed loss of political and cultural power. Due to the onset of racial paranoia, conservative Americans are scared that ethnic and racial minorities are going to comprise a majority of the United States population, challenge the status quo, and somehow procure access to unprecedented amounts of power, diminishing the power of whiteness. Immigration is not only a threat to the deterioration of whiteness but also to white Americans socioeconomic dislocation, which is why the phrase "they're taking our jobs" is so commonly employed during immigration debates. It is obvious that Trump and his supporters have a juvenile and surface level understanding of race. Even if immigration somehow compromised whiteness as a majority, it does not mean that the racial hierarchy of the United States would somehow become inverted. And it is very telling of Trump's unwillingness to be a minority that he, on

On Saturday, January 28th, Donald Trump enacted an immigrant ban on the countries of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. Trump believed that the Muslims in those states were terrorists and could possibly hurt the United States. When this ban came into effect, immigrants were stranded at airports and people, nation-wide, were livid and confused as to why the ban was enacted. Immigrants were frightened for their lives and wanted to go back to their home in America, but they were considered dangerous. After the ban, the United States chose sides on whether or not to support or despise the act. In, "Ask a Chicagoan, Mr. President, about 'dangerous' immigrants", the Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board successfully persuades the Chicagoland

While the election of Barack Obama who is of a mixed racial decent as the President of the United States was a clear indication that racial and ethnic prejudice cannot prevent racial minorities from succeeding and achieving positions of leadership, race and ethnicity continues to affect the opportunities that are offered to people in the U.S (Leon-Guerrero, 2010, p. 67). For instance, the U.S. has an ongoing social issue in dealing with illegal migrants that live and work in the U.S and racial and ethnic stereotypes affect the lives of these immigrants. Additionally, many African Americans do not have the same healthcare opportunities that Whites and other races benefit from (p. 81). In terms of undocumented immigrant workers in the U.S., their ethnicity reduces their chances of getting a tertiary education which results in a type of de facto segregation where Latinos that form the majority of illegal immigrants, have the lowest rates of education (p. 79). Furthermore, children that have come to the United States illegally find it extremely difficult to obtain citizenship even though they grow up to be college educated, high achievers (p. 72). It can be argued that similar to the changes in public opinion regarding slavery that took place in U.S. history, views on illegal

As diverse as the city of Los Angeles is, it has a history of racial tension and civil unrest. From 1910, the start of the Mexican Revolution and World War I when President Theodore Roosevelt instituted the “brown scare” (Coerver, 2001), to 1913, when the California Alien Land Act prohibited Japanese immigrants and citizens of Japanese descent from owning land in California, to 1934, when 3000 Chinese immigrants were displaced to make way for Union Station, to 1942, when 110,000 Japanese Americans were forced into internment camps, Los Angeles has historically been the center of racial controversy and tension (“Year by Year,” 1999). In 1943, Los Angeles was also full of young African Americans and Mexican Americans trying to protest the racism in the American culture by expressing themselves with their own music, clothing, culture, and style (Cosgrove, 1985). By the time of the Sleepy Lagoon murder in 1942, the stage had been set for the Zoot Suit Riots that occurred in June 1943. Although the riots only lasted ten days, the ramifications ranged from cultural repression on the part of many Mexican American families, to political activism on the part of others, and the beginning of reform within the Los Angeles Police Department.

Overtime racial tension has subdued in America. However, the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center has caused Americans to be conscious of people who are or are suspected to be of South Asian descent. This has resulted in threats, brutal beatings, and sometimes murder. In an article titled Inderjit Singh Mukker, Chicago-Area Sikh, Allegedly Attacked And Called 'Terrorist,' 'Bin Laden' it says, ”...Inderjit Singh Mukker, an American citizen and father of two, was on his way to a grocery store when a driver began taunting him. He finally pulled over to the side of the road to let him pass, but the driver instead pulled up in front of his car, reached into the car and repeatedly punched Mukker in the face. Mukker lost consciousness, lost blood

An issue that has continued to grow in importance in America is the issue of immigration. While it started back in the early years of our country with the Founding Fathers disapproving of immigration, it has become more apparent as a result of recent events. One major example of the recent events is the election of President Donald J. Trump. His election marks a drastic change in the goals of the United States. Trump’s predecessor, President Barack Obama, worked toward a more open and accessible country where people of all religions and beliefs can reside. Our newly elected president has a different view of other countries and the citizens that inhabit them. One popular example of his differing view of other countries is his opinion of Mexico and immigrants from there. He is quoted in saying “they’re rapists” (Gatehouse and Campbell 32) when referring to the Mexican people that has crossed the Mexican-American border. He is also well known for his plan to create a physical wall along the Mexican-American border to prevent further illegal immigration. In fact, originating from before Trump’s presidency, police officers can check the citizenship

As a result of the most recent Presidential Election, many minority groups like Muslims and Hispanics are dehumanized. It was said that current president, Donald Trump, had expressed many concern of the United States and linked them to certain minority groups. By doing so, Trump was able to promote controversial policies like building a wall between Mexico and the United States and create databases to track Muslims. Ironic as it sounds, Trump wanted the United State citizens to pay for the creation of this wall, if not, have the citizens of Mexico pay. The main aspect of this article was to promote the awareness of dehumanization among the United States to certain minority groups like the