As candidate and President, Donald Trump has unabashedly expressed his disdain for immigrants of color and demonstrated an unmistakable commitment to restrict their immigration to the United States. Contemptuous words about immigrants translated into concrete policies designed to restrict the number of immigrants entering and remaining in the United States. The Trump Administration’s implementation of the Muslim bans, “zero tolerance” policies directed at Mexican and Central American noncitizens, and an assortment of other initiatives all further the goal of decreasing the population of immigrants of color. Moreover, proposals to restrict legal immigration underscore that the current Administration seeks to substantially reduce the immigration of noncitizens of color to the United States.
This Article critically analyzes the Trump Administration’s immigration policies. First, we argue that the Administration’s initiatives together reveal the executive branch’s overall war on immigration diversity.
Second, when situated within the history of immigration laws and policies in the United States, the current war against immigration diversity furthers the Administration’s broader goal of returning to pre-1965 immigration policies designed to maintain a “white nation.”
Third, and most importantly, we contend that the Trump Administration’s immigration policies must be steadfastly resisted. Just as activists in the past fought discriminatory immigration policies, activists today must directly engage the racism animating the Trump Administration’s policies.
