After the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the subsequent
economic downturn, a swift, but often overlooked, backlash against
immigrants occurred. This treatment, while certainly betraying the
United States’ best ideals, has actually been a staple of
U.S. political behavior since a much earlier period in this
country’s history. However, since immigrants make so many
contributions and are a vital part of this country, all Americans
must resist this urge and treat immigrants more fairly.
Since Sept. 11. 2001, many Arab and South Asian immigrants who
have not been implicated in any kind of wrongdoing have been
detained, often without the right of due process. Thanks to the
grossly misnamed PATRIOT Act, immigrants can be deported more
easily, or held indefinitely without any judicial action if they
are believed to be a threat and their home country will not accept
them. Many South Asian and Arab males have been affected by grossly
unfair policies ““ hundreds are currently in detention by
government authorities.
Furthermore, Attorney General John Ashcroft has managed to
institute a policy in which all male non-citizens from a specified
list of countries (almost all in South Asia and the Middle East)
must register with the INS. Through such measures, the rights of
immigrants are being stripped and restricted.
This pattern of xenophobia is hardly unprecedented in our
history, as many Americans will recall the experience of Japanese
Americans during WWII. Due to President Franklin Roosevelt’s
Executive Order 9066, 110,000 Japanese Americans were interned.
While this is a much larger number than the number of imprisoned
Arabs and South Asians, we must not forget the vital lesson of
history: injustices, if forgotten, are doomed to be repeated. The
lessons of Japanese American internment seem to be lost on
President George W. Bush and Attorney General Ashcroft.
In earlier times, unfortunate Irish and Italian immigrants were
scapegoated in a variety of ways, namely by being segregated in
certain areas of New York City and by being discriminated against
when seeking better jobs. One of the main reasons for this
treatment, besides the feeling that Irish Americans and Italian
Americans were outsiders, was that Irish and Italian Americans were
seen as taking the jobs of those already in America, due to their
willingness to work for low wages. This belief bred resentment and
furthered discrimination.
One would hope that our nation has learned from the past, and
stopped blaming immigrants for providing necessary services.
Unfortunately, Mexican Americans and other immigrants from Latin
America are being mistreated and scapegoated in much the same
manner today. After the passage of Proposition 187 in California in
1994, it appeared that the state was submerged in anti-immigrant
sentiment. However, this abated for a time, until after Sept. 11,
2001.
Today, anti-immigrant baiting is on the rise. Congress-persons
such as Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) have called for drastic crackdowns
on illegal immigration and urged restrictions on legal
immigrants’ ability to obtain various types of government
assistance. Meanwhile, less mainstream conservatives like Pat
Buchanan have argued that non-white immigrants are more difficult
to assimilate into the United States, and so their immigration must
be restricted. It is no coincidence that such feelings arise at the
same time that an economic downturn drives down wages and finds
many Americans jobless and angry at the illegal immigrants who
“took” their jobs.
While some Americans may have a hard time accepting the
immigrants of today, it is vital to realize that a restriction upon
the rights of immigrants further expands the government’s
ability to oppress and subjugate its citizens. Unchecked, this
authority will spread to all areas of people’s lives. Today,
immigrants may be under attack, but who will it be tomorrow?
Furthermore, anti-immigrant bashing will neither stop terrorism,
nor improve the health of our nation’s economy.
Those who attack illegal immigration with such virulence would
do well to note that employees in the United States would not
perform many services performed by illegal immigrants. Also, while
better screening for terrorists is clearly necessary, targeting
thousands of people to find a few terrorists is neither
economically efficient nor morally fair. With hope, the people of
this nation will stop this injustice, or we are doomed to repeat
the mistakes of our past.
Bhaskar is a second-year political science student. E-mail him
at sbhaskar@media.ucla.edu.