Trump immigration policy: Will it lead to war?

America is known for being a bastion of freedom and inclusivity, but it also has a history of deep bias and prejudice against immigrants. In 1882, president Chester Arthur signed the “Chinese Exclusion Act” that banned the entry of Chinese immigrants for a period of 10 years and stopped those already living in the US from acquiring citizenship.

In the years that followed, and as more immigrants entered the US, a group calling itself the Immigration Restriction League petitioned Congress to screen immigrants, requiring them to prove that they could read and were literate. There were also growing sentiments against Germans and Irish because of their Catholic religion.

President Grover Cleveland, and then Woodrow Wilson, resisted the imposition of these requirements, with Wilson even vetoing in December 1916 the proposed Immigration Act of 1917. However, an overwhelming majority in Congress overrode Wilson’s veto.  This resulted in the banning of immigration from almost all Asian countries except the Philippines (which was a US colony at the time) and Japan because of a bilateral agreement.

This was followed by the 1921 Emergency Quota Act that limited the number of immigrants based on “national origins” – showing shades of racism already back then – with more preferential treatment given to those coming from western countries.

The most serious immigration ban, which may have led to World War II – was the 1924 Immigration Act (or the Johnson-Reed Act) that expanded the quota system and made Asians – including the Japanese – ineligible for citizenship due to obscure nationality laws dating back to 1790 and 1870 that said people of Asian lineage could not acquire US citizenship.

This “exclusion clause” deeply offended Japan because it violated an 1894 treaty guaranteeing immigration rights to the Japanese and assuring them of the same rights as US citizens. The law prompted people in Japan to declare a “National Day of Humiliation” – planting seeds of anger and resentment that likely contributed to the increased Japanese militarization and triggered the attack on Pearl Harbor.

This came to light during a presidential commission following World War II and the diary of Kikuichi Fujita (Commander of the 11th Special Attack Corps) where he wrote that it was “time to teach the Americans a lesson” for excluding immigrants from Japan, among other offenses.

The recent executive order of US President Donald Trump to prohibit the entry of people from seven predominantly Muslim countries (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Somalia and Yemen) for 90 days has the same shade of prejudice and further confirms the perception of many that America is moving towards isolationism. The order also suspended the Refugee Admissions Program of the US and imposed a ban on the entry of refugees from Syria.

The new policy has created ripples of concern as even green card holders could be prevented from going back to the US since agents from the Customs and Border Patrol have the discretionary authority to question or detain those who have just traveled to any of the banned nations. Filipinos with pending applications for immigrant visas are also apprehensive that their status could be jeopardized due to fears that the ban could be expanded to include the Philippines. As such, family reunification efforts could likewise be imperiled. It can be recalled that during the campaign, Trump promised to ban people from countries with a history of terrorism – naming the Philippines as one of them.

Trump is also encouraging US citizens to report crimes committed by undocumented aliens and has ordered US immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to create an “Office for Victims of Crimes Committed by Removable Aliens” and publish weekly reports about the crimes committed by illegal immigrants. He also wants to name and shame those “sanctuary” jurisdictions that refuse to detain aliens suspected of criminal involvement, reports said.

World leaders have condemned the new policy as discriminatory and racist, with many insinuating that this is pure and simple white supremacist thinking that Trump represents. 

Donald Trump’s immigration ban may just have an inflammatory effect among Muslims because the move seems to single them out. As pointed out by US Senator John McCain – the executive order may just become a “self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism,” and turn into a tool for recruitment by terrorist extremist groups. Reports say footages of Trump railing against Muslims entering the US have been turned into an ISIS propaganda and recruitment video.

By issuing the ban, America may just have created new enemies out of previous allies – triggering fears that this could lead to war.

A note of thanks

It would have been a great challenge for me to take on the position of Philippine Ambassador to the US, giving me an opportunity to serve our country. But I guess it was not meant to be because of my medical eye condition, for which my doctors advised me to avoid traveling at high altitudes for the next six months.

My grandfather, Miguel Romualdez, would have been proud of me because of our family’s history of relationship with the United States which started when he was appointed as Manila mayor in 1924 by Governor-General Leonard Wood. My father’s brother, Eduardo Romualdez, also served as Ambassador to the US from 1971 to 1982.

Allow me to first of all thank President Rodrigo Duterte for the honor of considering me for the position of Philippine Ambassador to the United States. I also would like to express my gratitude to my business circle of friends for their support – Manny Pangilinan, Tessie Sy-Coson, former Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, Wash Sycip, Miguel Belmonte, Danding Cojuangco and Ramon Ang, Ricky Razon, Lucio Tan and Jimmy Bautista, Joseph Chua and Ricky Delgado.

Personal friends have also been encouraging and supportive – and it certainly feels good to know that there are people who care about our country and the relationships we have with the world.

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