Hilltop Views (Austin, Tex.), Vol. 38, No. 12, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 2, 2015 Page: 8 of 12
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81 VIEWPOINTS
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2015 | HILLTOPVIEWSONLINE.COM
US, a nation of immigrants, turns its back on Syrian refugees
Every week the editorial
hoard reflects on a current is-
sue in Our View. The position
taken does not reflect the opin-
ions of everyone on the Hilltop
Views staff.
The ongoing refugee crisis
has been in constant circula-
tion in news and media out-
lets.
As the world speculates the
game between ISIS and the
Western world, it is Americas
turn to make a move. There
are many that are caught up
in what will happen to Amer-
ican life if we open our bor-
ders to refugees.
Refugees is a word that we
put on these displaced people
because then we characterize
them as just that, and discon-
nect ourselves from the fact
that they are people with
families, they are people that
have lost their homes, and
they are people who were so
scared for their safety that
they fled to another country.
They want to flee to our
country because they need
help, and we have, for years,
advertised ourselves as the
nation that seeks to help all.
So have we been falsely ad-
vertising? Do we only help
others when it benefits us.p
Fleeing a country is not
something that just happens
in one fell swoop.
It is dangerous, it is fright-
ening, and many refugees
have died en-route to other
places such as Europe.
Imagine surviving the trip
on an overcrowded boat,
train or bus and getting to
the country that has mar-
keted itself as a benevolent
nation, and then being sent
back to the country you fled.
All around the world, coun-
tries are shutting their bor-
ders down.
Our fear of terrorism has
stunted our humanity — we
are more afraid of terrorism
than we are hateful of it.
To what extent are we let-
ting terrorist forces win,
though?
In our attempt to “not let
the terrorists win” we are
forgetting that these refugees
also do not want the terror-
ists to win. We are on the
same team.
They are running away
from the same terroristic
threats that we are fighting
against.
While it would be extreme-
ly un-American of us to ig-
nore these people in need of
our help, it would also be un-
American and stupid of us to
ignore the possibility of ISIS
or other terrorist groups us-
ing the refugees as a way to
enter into the U.S. or other
target countries.
There would of course be
security measures put into
place — screening mecha-
nisms are vital to the entrance
of refugees; not only for our
sake, but for the sake of the
refugees as well.
When we shut our doors to
refugees in fear of terrorism,
we are being hypocrites. We
are shutting our doors with
the excuse of wanting to pro-
tect American lives but yet
we are quick to send troops
into war where the possibility
of death is certain.
Republican presidential
candidate Donald Trump has
proposed some extreme mea-
sures of screening like requir-
ing all Muslim Americans to
wear badges.
This idea sounds like some-
thing Adolf Hitler would
have planned in his sleep.
Such a statement by a man
who has a history of preju-
dice should be considered a
hate speech.
America has never been
a nation that removes the
freedom of some in order
to guarantee the freedom of
others and we certainly can-
not start that in 2015.
"WE ARE MORE AFRAID OF TERRORISM
THAN WE ARE HATEFUL OF IT."
1952 Naturalization Act should not determine immigration policies today
PEDRO PORTAL/MIAMI HERALD/TNS
Obama ran for president on a strong immigration platform.
By ERIN DOWNEY
@erindowney96
In Nov. 2014, President
Barack Obama announced a
series of executive actions to
crack down on illegal immi-
gration at the border.
These actions included de-
porting felons instead of fam-
ilies and requiring certain un-
documented immigrants to
pass a criminal background
check and pay taxes in order
to stay in the U.S. without
fear of deportation.
The plan was presented to
the Federal Appeals court
in New Orleans which shut
down the plan under the jus-
tification that the president
was overstepping his execu-
tive boundaries.
According to KUT, the
court ruled that the Natural-
ization Act of 1952, which
outlines when an immigrant
can remain in the country,
says the president, “cannot
unilaterally change that, even
if Congress refuses to enact
new immigration laws.”
However, Judge Carolyn
Dineen King included in the
case that: “I have a firm and
definite conviction that a
mistake has been made.”
Many, including myself,
agree with her. There is ab-
solutely no harm in grant-
ing citizenship whether it be
temporary or in some cases,
permanent to immigrants.
The only immigrants who
cause harm to the United
States’ national security are
criminals, and Obama has
vowed to take actions to de-
port the violent offenders.
Obama deserves recogni-
tion for an intelligent political
plan to help working families
who have come to America
for economic prosperity.
It is not 1952 anymore and
we are not in the midst of a
Cold War. It is inaccurate
that the court ruled that the
president was out of reach of
his jurisdiction when the act
itself denies immigrants who
are unlawful, immoral or
politically radical and abide
to not let them in. Obama
therefore, was not violating
the act.
Right now in 2015, we are
in no need to combat com-
munism like we were during
World War II and the Cold
War. Children, families and
working people should not
be shipped out, as much as
Donald Trump and other
extremist right-wingers
would like to see happen. It
is immoral and against the
U.S. ideals of liberty, equal-
ity and democracy to de-
stroy the Hispanic working
families who want to reside
here peacefully.
In a summary of the Nat-
uralization Act of 1952,
Wade Johnson, U.S. Im-
migration legislature, ex-
plained, “President Truman
originally vetoed the law,
deeming it discriminatory;
however there was enough
support in Congress for
the law to pass.” serving as
evidence that the formal act
itself was controversial.
It is not right to abide by
this act when it is so out of
place with the times today.
We as a developing people
should reform the laws fre-
quently to fit the time pe-
riod of the world and the
current issues facing people
today that were nonexis-
tent at the time the act was
passed.
Obama is not letting this
plan go, promising to take
it to the Supreme Court, as
he wholeheartedly should.
This is not a debate about
policy or political advance-
ment; it is about the people.
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Hilltop Views (Austin, Tex.), Vol. 38, No. 12, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 2, 2015, newspaper, December 2, 2015; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1006927/m1/8/?q=music: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting St. Edward’s University.