March 2016 immigration news at a glance

Written by Ludmila Leiva

In this month’s news digest, NWNY examines Donald Trump’s provocative immigration campaign and Bernie Sanders’ momentum, examining how these trends may impact immigration conversations on the path to the elections. Zooming into New York, we’ll then take a look at the road to the New York primaries and other New York immigration news.

Building walls

Donald Trump has been under fire for several months, particularly following his proposal to build a “great, beautiful” wall between the United States and Mexico — a wall that would only let the “good people” in, Trump has said. At the end of the month, the Trump campaign released a memo outlining how he would plan to build this 1,000-mile border wall and force Mexico to foot the bill. However, this time Trump took his hateful rhetoric even further, proposing to block remittances (money sent from the United States to Mexico) until Mexico agreed to make a one-time payment of $5 to $10 billion to the US to pay for the construction of the wall.

Though Trump’s plan is likely to be litigated and ultimately not move forward, his comments and proposals show a tendency to build up his campaign on the backs of  immigrants, Latinos, and other minorities — which could have far-reaching implications on the American economy, security, and democracy.

Ted Cruz has not been as vocal as Trump on these issues, but Obama has commented that many of his policies are “just as draconian when it comes to immigration.” John Kasich, the third Republican candidate in the race for the nomination, is more moderate than both candidates when it comes to immigration policy. However, Kasich campaign is lacking considerable momentum when compared to the other two candidates.

For many, this type of rhetoric is difficult to digest. As Leni Gonzalez, an immigration activist, told Fusion in a recent article, the threats uttered by Trump and other Republican candidates hold a lot of symbolism and “strike immigrants at their heart,” particularly those whose very reason for coming to the United States was to help their families financially.

“Feeling the Bern”

The Democratic campaign has radically transformed since March 1st. Since the beginning of the month, Sanders has exceeded delegate targets in Kansas, Nebraska, Maine, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Idaho, Utah, Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington; a trend that has simultaneously caused outrage and inspired hope, depending on who you ask.

In contrast with the Republican candidates, both Sanders and Clinton are fairly close together on some issues. The two candidates clashed in a heated debate in early March, much of which centered around immigration reform. Clinton confronted Sanders regarding his opposition to a comprehensive immigration reform during George W. Bush’s administration. Sanders fired back, claiming he chose not to support the bill because of a belief that some of the parameters would significantly lessen wages for workers, among other things. In the end, both candidates made several promises, including vows not to deport undocumented immigrants who were not accused of a crime and to support of a path to citizenship.

National immigration headlines

Outside of the political race, Cuban migration to the United States has continued to grow, nearly doubling toward the end of 2015. Fears of losing privileges after the restoration of diplomatic relations have spurred a wave of Cuban immigrants in recent months, as currently Cubans are able to stay once they reach American soil.

As March drew to a close, marking the sixth month into the new fiscal year, 29,055 refugees had arrived in the United States according to the State Department. Of these, only 1,285 were Syrian. This suggests that the US is significantly behind its goal of welcoming 10,000 Syrians in the year 2016. If the US is to meet these goals by the end of the fiscal year, it will need to almost double its current rate.

The US has been criticized for its low acceptance rate for Syrian refugees, which pales in comparison to other countries, such as Canada. In coming years, increases in interview staff and private sector funding may allow for a more efficient response to refugee crises that would offer better performance than the US has been able to execute this year.

New York City news

With the primary season drawing to a close, the Democratic and Republican hopefuls will soon arrive in New York for the primaries on April 19th. New Yorkers will be given the opportunity to make their voices heard and, potentially, decide how the remaining election season will unfold. The stakes for both parties remain high.

Clinton — whose campaign headquarters are in Brooklyn — currently boasts a narrow lead over Sanders. She has recently been endorsed by Mayor Bill de Blasio, whose support has made him a target for Republicans and who has been referred to as a “left-wing radical” as a result. Despite high-profile endorsements and favorable polls, Clinton faces mounting pressure.

On the other side of the party line, Donald Trump holds a 30-point advantage over Ted Cruz in his home city. Like Clinton, Trump hopes to rebound from his loss in Wisconsin in the upcoming primary.

The intensifying political climate led to several immigration rallies in New York this past month, some of which have inspired higher tension than others. The focus of this election has largely shifted to race and immigration issues, hitting a nerve with the American populous.

On March 19th, demonstrators gathered in Manhattan, marching from Columbus Circle to Trump Tower carrying signs that read “No to Racism & Immigrant Bashing.” “I think Donald Trump is speaking a message of fascism and racism, and I don’t think that’s good for America,” said Laura Merrill to CBS New York following an anti-Trump rally.