American history can be described as a Eurocentric study of race relations. Tracing back as far as the earliest genocides of Native Americans in the thirteen colonies, introduction of slavery in Virginia, persecution of German Jews, and subsequent Anti-Chinese immigration policies, US history is filled with neglect for foreigners and dissenters who seek the very freedoms the nation was built upon. The Twenty-first Century American society remains a largely powerful construction of white male design and anti-immigrant rhetoric lies in the crux of American domestic policy. Such a patriarchal and intolerant society persists today and parallels to the Puritan society in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne includes a precise examination of society’s reactions towards those who society deems as unfit for inclusion - be it political, cultural, or social differences in aspects of a particular group’s character. No group embodies the spirit of bearing the Scarlet Letter more than illegal immigrants of whom American society creates a false dichotomy between “us” and “them” in efforts to justify infringements of the Constitution and institute racist policies.
Illegal Immigration remains a highly contentious issue among voters across all states; its polarized nature has made it fodder for political candidates to capture entire voter blocs. What seemed to be a matter of migration became the chant for nativist tendencies and racist backlash against 11 million undocumented workers. Opponents of legalizing illegal immigrants point towards the need for immigrants to come through the United States in a legal fashion, thus allowing for proper security background checks, accounting for potential work exploitation, and ensuring a flow of taxes to the government. All are compelling reasons for legal immigration and are crucial for the enhancement of the country in national security and economy aspects. Yet, however noble a pursuit each of the reasons may be, there remain vast structural barriers towards instituting a proper legal immigration system which entails the 11 million illegal immigrants an opportunity to come back to the United States. Providing visas for millions of aliens would mean backtracking on current visa applicants from other countries, thus exacerbating the problem. Both major Presidential candidates agree that the broken immigration system which prevents millions of legal citizens themselves from gaining citizenship for years is an issue that will take years to fix due to severe red tape in the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
While illegal immigration has been an issue that the country has faced for decades, the current hostile political climate has reinforced nativist sentiments and ethnocentrism that are so entrenched in American society. Mexicans, comprising the majority of illegal immigrants, have been the latest target of anti-immigrant sentiments through being associated with criminals such as “rapists and murderers”, in turn being dehumanized. Trump has repeatedly called for a “wall” and mass deportation of millions of illegals, simply demonstrating that discourse shapes reality. Through identifying illegal immigrants as felons who deserve harsh treatment for their actions of crossing the border and contributing to the US economy, society creates a stigma revolving illegal immigrants, making racist, unconstitutional policies more plausible. This was exemplified upon Reagan’s calls for deporting millions of illegal immigrants for economic reasons. Upon threat of economic volatility, the public overwhelmingly voted for mass deportation. In grouping all foreign nationals residing in the United States as one, the United States perpetuates inconsistent representations of immigrants as dangerous which is essential to sustaining American exceptionalism. Absent confronting such dangerous ideals, such discourse will generate a self-fulfilling prophecy. Danger from illegal immigrants in terms of crime is unlikely as evident by Pew Research’s comprehensive report that entails that immigrants are less likely to commit crime since they are less likely to be unemployed. The stigma of illegal immigration doesn’t end with illegal immigrants; the residue of shame lies in the children of illegal immigrants who are so derogatively called “anchor babies”. Despite being American citizens, politicians push for legislation which reject the identification of their parents’ legal status and subsequent deportation, thus raising questions about the legal status of their children who lack a home. In states such as Texas where the issue of illegal immigration is of extreme relevance, the so-called “anchor babies” are delivered to be wards of the state and in turn reduced to be in a we of dependencies to the state.
Society’s tendency to isolate those different and lack of appreciation for their contributions to society isn’t unique to a particular time period. The National Agricultural Survey states that 53% of workers in Agriculture are illegal immigrants and that deportation of illegal immigrants would have severe repercussions to the agricultural sector of the economy, as the demand for farm jobs is increasing yet Americans lack interest in such field work. This is consistent with Stephen Colbert’s conclusion that immigrant workers in farms are often the only ones determined to work in farms. Low food prices and abundant food supply should be credited to the work of such illegals yet an average American lacks awareness of the dire situation. Illegals are thus alienated and work in the literal shadows of work, often subject to exploitation by employers. Through contributing to the economy, Americans reap the benefits and in turn, perpetuate hateful rhetoric to the group.
American society remains consistent in its tendency to fall back to eurocentrism values in determining moral judgement upon groups. Through dividing the community into camps and marginalizing groups, society benefits in exploitation. Illegal immigration is the exemplification of wearers of scarlet letter as they are often the scapegoat of unemployment and the object of racism. Illegal immigrants, especially Mexicans, are alienated and subject of hateful rhetoric because of their vulnerability in social stature. Illegal immigrants contribute heavily to the overall good of society but are looked down upon in targeting their children as political tools and rejecting them from the political process.
