Stop the Immigration Ban: a Summary

Over the past few weeks have have argued that President Donald Trump’s immigration ban not only negatively effects the immigrants and refugees that it excludes from the country, but also effects the United States, in addition to countries not included in the ban.

In Week 1, we discussed how America is a nation of hypocrites due to the fact that we are more concerned with international terrorism than domestic, even though domestic terrorism is much more likely. Our statement on America’s hypocrisy goes even further in discussing how the ban essentially disavows America as a melting pot of races and cultures that we were once so welcoming of in the 20th century when Europeans were entering the country. As part of a better understanding of Trump’s policies, we talked about the roots of the term “Alternative facts,” and the implications it has for our country. And finally, in Week 1, we discussed how using such a heinous system to keep people out of our country does nothing but generalize immigrants and refugees as dangerous, even when a very small number of immigrants and refugees have bad intentions.

For Week 2, we started off by giving some insight into the protests calling for an end to the ban, specifically at airports, and how people were rallying together for change. We then discussed thirteen ways that Americans could help with the ban, through actions like donating to alleviate costs to simply tweeting facts about the ban. Later, we wrote in regards to Donald Trump’s frequent Twitter binges, in which he often puts his foot in his mouth, and the tone that his social media abuse sets for the outlook of the ban and the rest of his term.

Week 3 had a few different focuses, one of them being economics and the legitimacy of the ban. We argue that Trump’s call to deport immigrants would be much too costly for the American people, not to mention, completely unrealistic. Following that, we continue to discuss that, given Trump’s reasoning behind the ban, the seven countries currently included in the ban are no where near enough to fully “protect” us, given the criteria he has deemed “unsafe.” Week 3 ended on a video of tv host James Corden doing an experiment in an airport, demonstrating how easy it is for a white man to make it through airport security.

For Week 4, we added content regarding the true implications the ban has for immigrants already living in America, and the fear that comes along with being an immigrant or refugee in America, especially in terms of ICE control. We also touched on how immigrants have built up our economy, especially in terms of development of apps and other technology-centric businesses, and how or decision to block people from our country could have negative implications on tourism and the cost of college in America. We finished up Week 4 by discussing the role the media and celebrities have played in the ban, and how the ban is stirring up fear in the eyes of black citizens.

In all, we still hold true to our remarks set fourth at the beginning of the project and our stance on the ban. In doing more research, we are now better educated and can fully defend our position on the immigration ban and its implications.

Miscellaneous: Foreign View On Ban

 


While we often think about the view of U.S citizens and families of the banned countries, we often forget that other countries have opinions on the matter. This ban not only effects our relationships with the seven banned countries, but also around the world. Many predominantly Muslim countries that were not on the banned list are appalled by the executive order. Even close allies such as Britain and France disagree. These linkshow tweets and a video from representatives from other countries and their views. An overwhelming amount show disagreement, however one politician from the Netherlands said he would do the same.

Affirmative: What would America be without immigrants?

With the recent uprising and hype regarding the status of immigrants, many people have done research and reports on what America would be without immigrants. Many people tend not to recognize all immigrants have done for our country, and the strides and hard work they put in to get here.

There is a difference in the impact that legal immigrants have versus those who are illegal, but there is some impact either way.

Technology is a big factor in today’s society, and immigrants have contributed to it’s growth more than one would imagine. Without immigrants, out “unicorns” would not exist. “Unicorns” not referring to the imaginary creature, but the apps that allow people to travel from one place to another with simply the click of a button and the payment being connected to a credit card. Some common unicorns are Uber or PayPal. About 40 billion-dollar companies would not have been founded without immigrants.

If one looked at all the “unicorn” companies worth one billion dollars or more, 51% had a founder not born in the USA. Also, 70% of those “unicorn” companies feature immigrant workers that play large and key roles within the company.

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STEM is a technology based field that immigrants tend to lead, thrive, and do very well in, which may account and contribute to their creativity regarding app creation. They tend to hold a lot of STEM degrees which increases and helps when it comes to job multiplication. It is now statically proven that when there is one immigrant working in a STEM field, they are responsible for creating 2.72 more jobs.

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Lastly, immigrants are making strides in fields outside of STEM, and in broader areas of patents and inventions. Immigrants are involved in 76% of patents from top patent producing companies in America, reported to help mankind in many ways.

These patents are both technologically and pharmaceutical (medicine based).

Miscellaneous: Not Just White-Christians Should Have It This Easy

 

In this video, popular talk show host, James Corden, walks through the airport to show how easy it is for him to get through security. The purpose of this is to show that all legal immigrants should be able to have it this easy, not just White Christian ones.

Refutation: Not Fully Protected

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(CBCNews)


Vice President Mike Pence has made many statements of support about Trump’s Immigration ban, stating that stating to Fox News’ Sean Hannity that what Trump did is “impose a pause on countries that have been compromised by terrorism so that we can evaluate the screening process and establish … extreme vetting so that people coming in to this country don’t represent a threat to our families and our communities.” From this logic, there should be many more countries with travel bans, including the Philippines, Turkey, India, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Egypt, and more. However Trump has properties (or is involved in properties) in six (Philippines, Indonesia, and Egypt) of the countries listed above, and is in business with a wealthy family from the other (Malaysia.) According to CNN, there are a total of 40 countries that have active terrorist cells, are the base for terrorist organizations, or are state sponsors of terrorism. However, only seven have official travel bans. Trump’s defense of those specific countries is that they were originally chosen by Obama’s administration as “countries of concern,”

While those countries have a travel ban, there are still 33 that do not have any restrictions. The argument that by banning just those 7 countries will eliminate foreign-terrorists from entering the country is ludicrous. According to Nowrasteh, between 1975 and 2015, only 20 refugees have been convicted of attempting a terrorist act (zero Americans were injured/killed in these attempts.) Additionally, it can be seen in the previous article, that out of 580 terrorist related convictions, 92 people were U.S Citizens, while 40 were foreign-born, and 241 were not actually for terrorist offenses.

This proves that banning entry to Syrian refugees and individuals from the seven banned countries does nothing to prevent more terrorist attacks. Trump’s ban is only doing more harm than good by damaging international relations, blocking families who are only seeking safety, and inciting domestic tension.

Here is a map of countries banned by Trump with countries he’s done business in:

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Miscellaneous: Quick Facts About The Ban

Above is a video by popular youtuberCaseyNeistat showcasing the initial protests to Trump’s executive order. The reactions seen above are not singular to New York City, as shown in the video- it can be seen across the country. Many people who boarded planes with valid visas in the “banned countries” arrived back in the United States only to be detained on the spot because of their nationality. Further information regarding the Travel Ban can be found here on Politifact. The website linked gives details about the Travel Ban and how it affects both green card holders and nonimmigrant visa card holders.