It's been an excruciating two and a half years of his presidency and while there are many issues that I, or literally anyone, could draw attention to, I want to discuss legal immigration. Legal immigration comprises of work and student visas, and green cards, which import a great deal of qualified people from various nations to contribute to the American society and economy. Every so often, these visas must be renewed or green cards should be submitted for processing in order to bring one closer to citizenship or semi-permanent residency.
After witnessing first-hand multiple close friends and family have to go back to their nations because of their visas not being renewed in a timely fashion, it has become apparent that the incompetence of the Trump Administration is causing qualified people to leave the country. The lives of these families are halted and spun around without much warning, as they have to pack their belongings and relocate within weeks all while hoping there is a job waiting for them back home.
When it comes to work visas and the argument that there would be more jobs for American citizens if less of them were given to non-Americans, the fact is that these jobs were not being filled by Americans in the first place. The shortage of Americans qualified for certain industries forces American companies to search for foreign candidates. Thus, these jobs will be hard to fill. My parents immigrated from India in the nineties and were granted Green Cards within a few years.
A little over five years after that, they were able to apply for citizenship. This occurred during the Clinton and Bush administrations. The difference under the Trump Administration is the unprecedented amount of people backed up on the waiting list for visa processing and Green Card issuing. But more importantly, word is spreading around the world as members of our society and economy literally "go back to where they came from."
Plainly said, the world is losing trust in the American government which could have long-lasting effects on the image of the U.S. as a global superpower. Much of American power and force across the world comes from our reputation, built over decades of international involvement in conflict. America is also home to several ethnicities and people of various backgrounds who bring their heritage with them, earning America respect and admiration until now.
When that trust is broken, the respect and power go with it. U.S. foreign relations have weakened immensely already, but this could be the beginning of a long decline in the efficacy of American government and in turn the standards it is held up to by the global community.
Either America starts investing in better specialized, higher education at home, or it pays attention to the massive input of so-called "aliens."
