These “exceptional immigrant” narratives being peddled are unnecessary and irrelevant and feed into the idea that people born into poor circumstances do not deserve the same opportunities as others.
Sometime Thursday, Donald J. Trump waddled into the Oval Office at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, D.C., and not only blustered that immigrants from the countries of Haiti, El Salvador and the entire continent of Africa are “people from shithole countries” but also encouraged more immigration from countries such as Norway and the continent of Asia because of some perceived economic benefit to the U.S.
None of this sentiment should come as a surprise to anyone. This is the same Trump who campaigned on building a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, who has bragged about sexually assaulting women, and who implemented an Islamophobic visa ban and repealed the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, a regulation that protected undocumented residents who arrived in the U.S. as minors, a position that I myself was in many years ago. This latest outburst is just an extension of the long-standing record of racism and xenophobia that Trump has exhibited going back to the Central Park Five.
Nevertheless, the backlash was swift—anchors across cable news reveled in the opportunity to say the word “shithole” ad infinitum with the socially appropriate level of disgust that should be assigned to such a fiasco. Anderson Cooper gave a moving monologue speaking about his time and experience in Haiti and why their lives are just as valuable as anyone else’s. Don Lemon openly called Trump a racist and disengaged with the conservative guests on his program that demurred from the label.
Then the inevitable happened: Story after story arose of how amazing Haitians and Africans are, of how African immigrants have a high rate of postsecondary education in the United States, of the beautiful beaches and infrastructure and urban hubs that are widespread across the Diaspora, as if it is our pedigree and wares that make us worthy immigrants.
Let’s get one thing straight. Africa could indeed be composed of 54 individual, sentient piles of shit, and it would not make Trump’s immigration policy and rhetoric less abhorrent. The social contract that we abide by comes with an expectation of respect for our basic humanity, an expectation of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness—not a degree audit. These “exceptional immigrant” narratives being peddled are unnecessary and irrelevant and feed into the idea that people born into poor circumstances do not deserve the same opportunities as others.
