Latest update March 28th, 2024 12:59 AM
Aug 20, 2015 Letters
DEAR EDITOR,
Republican leading presidential candidate Donald Trump is leading his colleagues seeking the nomination for the 2016 Presidential election. Trump’s anti-immigration stance, a reversal of a few months ago, is not good for Guyanese Americans and/or other immigrants in the US.
Trump wants to deport all illegal immigrants in the US (over 11 million) and to restrict citizenship to legal immigrants as well as to babies born in the US to illegal immigrants.
It is noted that all of Trump’s past wives and current wife are immigrants; yet he takes an anti-immigrant posture — a display of hypocrisy, and only months ago, he was pro-immigrant employing many and praising the contributions of immigrants to America’s development. He had favoured a liberal immigration policy to bring in skilled immigrants.
An anti-immigrant theme is resonating well with Republican primary election voters and Trump has been advised to run with it. Coincidentally, Frank Lutz, pollster and political analyst for the AFC for the 2006 elections, is Trump’s main advisor and pollster – the man behind the anti-immigrant theme that is playing so well with voters.
The Republicans ran on an anti-immigrant theme last year and won a landslide victory. Trump is hoping to replicate that achievement. There are sixteen candidates seeking the Republican nomination, with Trump playing on the anti-immigrant theme.
Trump attacked Mexicans and Mexican immigrants that played well with voters. He began to expand his anti-immigrant theme attacking other immigrants (other nationalities) as well. However, he favours immigration of technical skilled people like engineers, doctors, and computer specialists, though not to grant them citizenship.
Trump is now advocating a denial of citizenship to the babies of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally as part of an immigration plan that emphasises border security and deportation of illegals. He described Mexican immigrants as “rapists” and “criminals.” But the statement has drawn the ire of immigrants and mainstream Americans and led to cancellation of tens of millions of dollars in contracts for Trump on TV and other businesses like the Miss Universe Pageants which he controls. Other Republican candidates condemned Trump for the statement and they all have lost support in opinion polls. Hispanic (Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, etc.) and other immigrants voted overwhelmingly Democratic in recent Presidential elections.
Trump, in an interview on national TV, said as President he would push to end the constitutionally protected citizenship rights of children of any family living illegally inside the U.S. It is appealing to Republicans and other nativists.
Native-born children of immigrants, even those living illegally in the U.S., have been automatically considered American citizens since the adoption of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution in 1868.
The odds of repealing the amendment’s citizenship clause would be almost impossible. The other Republican candidates do not support such a drastic anti-immigrant step. An amendment requires the votes of two-thirds of both Houses of Congress and support from three-fourths of the nation’s state legislatures. There are three other similar possibilities to amend the constitution and all are difficult to achieve.
Republicans in Congress have pushed without success to repeal the citizenship provision since 2011. Some conservative Republicans believe the citizenship provision could be changed without amending the Constitution. It is doubtful the court would agree with such an interpretation of the constitution.
Although he leads in the polls, Trump, a billionaire, remains a longshot for the White House. In recent early Presidential primary contests, candidates took an anti-immigrant stance before the leading candidate moves to a centrist position on mainstream issues and on immigration. Nevertheless, Trump is bad news for immigrants, and Guyanese and other immigrant Americans should consider becoming involved and supporting mainstream candidates who would advocate their interests.
Vishnu Bisram
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
Mar 28, 2024
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