Americans across the country Sunday are pushing back against statements made by President Donald Trump as he ramps up his attacks on immigrants fleeing violence in Central America, hoping for asylum in the U.S.
“We cannot allow all of these people to invade our Country,” the president said in a statement via Twitter. “When somebody comes in, we must immediately, with no Judges or Court Cases, bring them back from where they came. Our system is a mockery to good immigration policy and Law and Order,” he claimed, falsely.
Also, illegally – immigrants, even those who enter the country illegally, have civil rights once they are on U.S. soil.
“Most children come without parents,” Trump continued, which is at best questionable. “Our Immigration policy, laughed at all over the world, is very unfair to all of those people who have gone through the system legally and are waiting on line for years! Immigration must be based on merit – we need people who will help to Make America Great Again!”
Trump has worked hard to reduce the number of immigrants into the U.S., especially from Muslim-majority countries, via his travel ban, and from African nations, which he infamously referred to as “shithole countries,” and now from Central America. Many of those he is attacking are seeking refugee status and asylum. Several countries in Honduras in recent years have been labeled “the murder capital of the world,” due to their exponentially higher rates of violence and murder.
On social media, many are noting the president’s language choices reflect his true feelings about immigrants in general. Words like “these people,” “invade,” and recently, “infest,” “breed,” and “animals,” clearly are meant to dehumanize immigrants – legal or otherwise.
One offered a edited copy of The 10 Stages of Genocide. The original was written by Gregory H. Stanton, the President of Genocide Watch, who is a Research Professor in Genocide Studies and Prevention at George Mason University:
Others weighed in with similar concerns and outrage:
Image by Alisdare Hickson via Flickr and a CC license