US poll flashpoint on
IT happens when you least expect it. An individual, a community or even a nation can find itself suddenly confronted with an ugly truth.
It is at that moment a commonly held view, or perception of one’s self, its community or nation is irrefutably turned on its head. Such a moment has arrived for America. And its global image and reputation has suffered accordingly.
America has an immigration problem.
Americans have always stated without hesitation and with unrestrained pride that our nation is, perhaps, the greatest experiment ever attempted in terms of integrating the peoples of the world into one nation-state.
And, there is certainly much truth to that belief. Most came to America voluntarily, and some came involuntarily. This dual-reality is also indisputable.
However, in 2019, another uncomfortable truth has emerged. And, it is not pretty or pleasant. Not everyone gets into America. In fact, Ellis Island, where my family came through in 1927, before settling in the Queens borough of New York City, was commonly called the “Island of Tears”. About 10 per cent of those who travelled from Europe, and other destinations, to this tiny island, which represented the prospect of a new start in life, were sent back to their country of origins. For a sizeable minority of these pursuers of a better life, their dreams and hopes were shattered just beyond the shadows cast by New York City’s skyscrapers.
Today, the new Ellis Island, in its many manifestations, is on the US-Mexico border. Once again, thousands,
primarily from Central America, seek a “new” world in which to live. Instead, they find themselves locked up in various forms of American detention centres. Outspoken US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, representing portions of the Bronx and Queens boroughs of New York City, has compared the facilities to “concentration camps”.
Of course, such combustible and hyperbolic statements have ignited a much-needed conversation in America. Who are we as a people? What does America represent? These questions have become even more critical because the US government has admitted the living conditions at these “detention centres” are indeed substandard. President Trump has all but declared America does not want these migrants entering the country. Hence, the serious health and security concerns are a reflection of the government’s attitude toward these mostly desperate people.
As in other periods of US history, these scared and vulnerable people have become a political football in American politics. And, without question, they are getting the hell kicked out of them.
The Democratic Party wants these migrants to be allowed to reside in America. Why? Because the vast majority of these new migrants will probably vote for Democratic candidates in elections. The Republican Party, though with greater restraint, also want these pathfinders to enter America because they are willing to do the dirty and difficult labourintensive jobs that most Americans refuse to do. And, US companies of various stripes have made tens of millions from America’s newly anointed working-class poor.
So, in theory, if everyone gets something, economically or politically, from these newly arrived “dreamers” — what is the problem? Ironically, it is President Donald J. Trump. As Citizen Trump, he made billions from various construction projects (with the help of cheap immigrant labour). As Candidate Trump, in 2016, he vociferously campaigned, without fear or favour, on the issue of immigration. Trump’s message was simple. He intended to build a wall on the US-Mexico border. Trump’s audiences erupted in cheers. He also stated that the (uninformed) people of Mexico were going to help pay for the wall. This declaration generated even louder cheers from his supporters.
Initially, this issue was generally perceived as simply red meat for the GOP (Republican Grand Old Party) diehards. But political pollsters also began to discover that this volatile issue crossed party lines. Among Democratic voters, the immigration issue had also resonated intensely among them. Why? Because millions of them, particularly those living in the upper Midwest (Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois), had lost their well-paying factory/ manufacturing jobs to either the non-union American South, Mexico or Asia.
Candidate Trump brilliantly tapped into the region’s unbridled resentment. On election night, Trump carried both Michigan and Wisconsin. Both states were viewed as strongholds for the Democratic Party. Candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton’s dream of becoming the first woman American president
Randall Doyle
was electorally derailed in these two key industrial states. Michigan had not voted for a Republican Party presidential candidate since 1988! Political analysts and experts on election night, most of whom are completely ignorant about those living in Middle America, were left speechless.
Three years later, in 2019, the immigration issue is again front and centre in American politics. President Trump has already indicated that this highly charged issue will once again be a major element of his re-election campaign. Without question, this issue continues to emotionally energise and divide Americans. The fast approaching 2020 presidential campaign promises to be very ugly indeed.
And the upper Midwest will once again be a key political battleground. Sadly, the region continues to struggle — job losses, store closures, rising poverty rates, schools struggling due to continued budget cuts, mounting social ills (opioid addiction, suicides and homelessness, etc.).
Today, if America looks in the mirror — what does it see? A nation increasingly divided along deepening societal fault lines — financial, generational, racial, gender and, of course, political.
As a result, America’s global influence and international presence continues to wane. We are presently not at war with any foreign nation. Instead, we find ourselves in a state of war among each other. Professor Randall Doyle teaches US history, government and international relations at MidMichigan College. He is author of and is a regular visitor to Tasmania.