Recent comments by former President Donald Trump regarding his proposed green card policies have sparked considerable disappointment among some of his supporters.
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| Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Las Vegas PHOTO BY BRANDON BELL/GETTY IMAGES. |
Trump's proposals, which are part of his broader immigration strategy for the 2024 presidential campaign, aim to significantly change the current U.S. immigration policies established by the Biden administration.
One of Trump's key proposals is to cancel visas for foreign students who participate in pro-Palestine rallies. He suggests expanding ideological screening for migrants, including disqualifying individuals based on their political beliefs and associations.
For example, individuals who support Hamas, support the abolition of Israel or identify as communists, Marxists, or fascists would be barred from entering the United States.
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| Protesters outside Harvard's University, September 4, 2023, Cambridge, Massachusetts. |
This proposal has raised concerns about potential violations of free speech and the chilling effect it could have on political expression.
Additionally, Trump plans to terminate programs such as Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which currently protect over a million people from deportation.
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) offers temporary protection to individuals from countries experiencing ongoing armed conflict or environmental disasters.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) provides similar protections to individuals who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
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| Protesters outside Harvard's University, |
Terminating these programs would affect hundreds of thousands of individuals who have built their lives in the U.S., leading to potential legal battles similar to those during Trump's first term.
Trump also plans to suspend the U.S. refugee program entirely. During his presidency, he had already reduced the refugee admissions cap to a historic low, but this time he proposes stopping the program altogether.
This would mean that the U.S. would no longer accept refugees fleeing persecution due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in particular social groups. Such a move could face significant legal and humanitarian challenges.
In 2021 President Biden lifted the ban that stopped many green card applicants from entering the country. He said that blocking legal immigration did not benefit the U.S. President Biden revoked the ban on green cards that Trump put in place, which lawyers said was preventing most legal immigration.
President Biden has been undoing Trump's immigration policies, canceling the former president's orders, and making new ones. By lifting Trump's Presidential Proclamation 100014, Biden stated it "does not advance the interests of the United States."
"To the contrary, it harms the United States, including by preventing certain family members of United States citizens and lawful permanent residents from joining their families here," Biden said in his statement.
"It also harms industries in the United States that utilize talent from around the world." The original ban in April last year aimed to protect U.S. jobs during high unemployment due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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| Afghan refugees board a bus after arriving at Dulles International Airport on August 27, 2021 in Dulles, Virginia after being evacuated from Kabul following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. Olivier Douliery | AFP | Getty Images |
The ban stopped issuing green cards to some people outside the U.S. who wanted to immigrate legally. About 120,000 family-based preference visas were lost mainly because of the ban.
The ban also affected individuals with employment-based visas unless they were seen as beneficial to the national interest, like healthcare workers. It also closed the door to thousands of Diversity Visa Lottery winners who were randomly selected from about 14 million applicants.
Also, Trump has mentioned invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport gang and cartel members. This law was originally intended for wartime scenarios involving enemy nations. This law would interpret criminal gang activities as equivalent to acts of war by foreign nations. Legal experts argue that applying this law in the context of modern criminal activities could face considerable legal hurdles.
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These proposals have received mixed reactions from Trump supporters and the general public. Some supporters like the tough approach to immigration, but others worry about how these measures might work and the risk of violating on civil liberties and human rights. The ideological screening, in particular, has been criticized for possibly violating people's First Amendment rights.
Trump's recent comments on green card policies reflect a continuation of his tough immigration standpoint, focusing on restrictive measures and expanded deportations.
These proposals are likely to start significant legal and political debates with the ongoing 2024 presidential campaigns from Biden and Trump.
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