Vedika Jhunjhunwala
The Trump Administration announced a green-card ban which was initially just a temporary 60 day ban, however, has now been extended until the end of the year. It has also been expanded to cover other temporary-employment visas such as the H1B visas. The reason for this ban is to prevent the spread of the virus and protect American workers. While I agree with the incentive and rationale behind protecting American employment due to large scale unemployment prevalent in the country during these uncertain times, I do believe some of the terms of this ban is insensitive to certain groups.
Doctors and professionals from the medical fraternities are affected by this ban. Approximately 127,000 doctors and almost a quarter of physicians in the United States today are immigrants. Doesn’t America need these heroes now more than ever? Not only are these medical professionals worried about dying from the virus, but also about their families getting deported.
This particular ban prevents refugees trying to cross the border as it blocks asylum applicants. Not only does this measure violate American law, but also international law which prevents the prohibition of refugees who face persecution based on race, religion, political ideologies among other things. To add to this, it completely denies women asylum who are running away from gender-based persecution in their country of origin and unaccompanied minors who might have gone through life-threatening abuse and bloodshed. Don’t these women and children deserve a stable home?
However, most importantly, it affects American citizens who have been waiting for years to reunite with their families but whom now are trapped abroad.
For these individuals, the ban should be lifted.
South Korea as a model:
When South Korea opened their borders, they implemented a 14-day quarantine facility and period so that entry of immigrants would not cause a public-health crisis.
A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that American wages actually gain from labor of immigrants. Innovative companies such as Google were established by immigrants on American soil and the deportation of immigrant workers during the Great Depression did not result in increased wages.
Lastly, referring to an opinion piece in the New York Times:
“The only way that a country with less than 5 percent of the world’s population can maintain the long-term economic and cultural superiority to which many Americans feel entitled is to collectively produce much more than 5 percent of the world’s best ideas”
Sources:
Somin, I. (2020, June 29). The Danger of America’s Coronavirus Immigration Bans. Retrieved July 03, 2020, from https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/danger-americas-coronavirus-immigration-bans/613537/
Manjoo, F. (2020, July 01). The World Builds a Wall to Keep America Out. Retrieved July 03, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/01/opinion/us-travel-ban-europe.html
(since this was written Immigration and Customs Enforcement released a temporary rule that limits international students’ access to completing online coursework at American universities).
More information on the ruling can be found here: https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/sevp-modifies-temporary-exemptions-nonimmigrant-students-taking-online-courses-during