Laura Colgan OUR VOICE IN NEW YORK So Don’ with the migrant criticism
LET’S NOT PLAY TRUMP CARD
IRELAND is where America was eight years ago.
Less than a year to go until a general election and anti-immigrant sentiment is growing by the day.
The country is full. Close the borders. Build a wall. Look after our own.
The rioting. The open racism. The division.
All the while forgetting that ‘our own’ were once forced to emigrate and build lives overseas.
America is primed for a Biden v Trump rematch later this year and immigration policies will ultimately sway voters.
Biden spent much of his time undoing the anti-immigration policies implemented by Trump.
Fear
The ones that saw 5,000 children separated from their parents across borders. The ones that normalised racism and divided communities.
The ones that pushed undocumented people further into hiding and living in daily fear. The ones that made it tougher for immigrants to get jobs when America needs workers.
The ones that sent the message that the American dream is no longer achievable.
But some voters want to see these policies return, so they openly tell me.
But it’s not the likes of me that’s not welcome here.
I’m white, speak English and I’m college-educated, so I’m not the type of immigrant they mean. I’m an ex-pat, which is the same only different.
America was built by migrants. It still is. And it needs them.
And they’ve built their fortunes on their own. Almost all, 92 per cent, are self-made, compared to 71 per cent of Americans. They’re not spongers and wasters taking advantage of what’s not theirs. The world’s richest man, Elon Musk from South Africa, is among them.
As Ireland gears up for a general election, Justice Minister Helen McEntee tried to dispel the myth that immigrants are taking jobs from Irish people.
She said: “About 20 per cent of our workers are migrants. If they were to leave in the morning, some of our rural schools would lose teachers, our health service would suffer and the construction of many new homes would slow down.
“They’re contributing frankly, we need them.”
We do. And the far-right anti-immigrant rioters waging a war can’t see it.
This great year of global elections, when 1.5 billion people will go to polls worldwide, could have more impact than ever imagined. and, quite