Ingredients for a Diverse America
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Ingredients for a Diverse America

Though the travel ban and its implied origins met heavy criticism, and protest formed across the United States, the ban is not drastically different from the overall history of the American immigration policy.

In K-12 schooling America is often described as the melting pot, the place people of all ethnicities and religions come to live and work together.

In contrast to this idea, from 1770 to 1953 immigrants had to be “white” in order to become citizens of the United States.

In 1922, Takawo Ozawa, a Japanese immigrant, sued the federal government for citizenship claiming he qualified as “white” and lost. A second similar case followed shortly after Ozawa’s where citizenship was also denied.

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 is in line with the trend of keeping people out, and was renewed multiple times before legislation passed to permanently keep Chinese immigrants out. This was repealed in 1942.

Even “white” immigrants from Europe were regularly discriminated against in the early days of melting-pot America.

Irishmen, Italians, Greeks and others were discriminated against in one way or another, leading to the development of nationality-centered neighborhoods. This was drastically worse on the west coast against people of Asian descent, especially during WWII.

Japanese Internment camps happened per order of President Roosevelt, a leader who is remembered with adoration and pride in American history.

The Immigration Act of 1924 placed a quota on the proportions of certain immigrant groups which could enter the United States.

Since the proportions were based on a population census that was completed just before the sharp spike in immigration arrivals to the United States, many people were prevented from coming to the United States based on those skewed numbers.

This act was not overturned until 1965.

Trump’s travel ban was not far off from where immigration policy in the United States once was.

However, Lee Willis, department chair and associate professor of the history and international studies department, said “it is a stark change in American immigration policy,” from where it has been heading.

Willis said Trump’s ban was not unheard-of but the quick change of direction in policy contributed to the shock of it.

The United States still has some of the most inclusive immigration laws in the world, but this dramatic order was difficult for some to wrap their heads around.

Trump said after his travel ban was defeated in the circuit of appeals that immigrants from the seven listed countries will be extremely vetted before allowed entry.

President Obama had already implemented strict vetting procedures on refugees and immigrants when he was in office.

Trump followed up by saying Christians would be given priority over Muslims when trying to enter the country from the countries in his executive order.

This is in disagreement to the First Amendment which protects the right to religion for citizens, and many found Trump’s comment unconstitutional and out-of-line with American principles.

The travel ban has been defeated by the courts due to the states of Washington and Minnesota being “substantially injured” by the policy, even if only enacted temporarily.

Though Trump’s policies are not as unprecedented as they may appear, people across the nation have taken a stand against them, and have succeeded.

 

Samantha Stein

News Editor

sstei173@uwsp.edu

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