With President Donald Trump signing an immigration ban on April 22, 2020, the discussion about immigrants and the issues they face in the U.S. has gained newfound traction amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Individuals such as Jean Danhong Chen are trying to help communities through this difficult time by raising awareness. Whereas, human rights and political experts are raising their voices against the injustice that immigrants will face due to this drastic step.
However, the U.S. had closed its borders to multiple countries for nonessential travel long before this immigration ban came into place.
Specifically, the U.S. made the move to block major means of travel from Canada and Mexico back in the last week of March. While the step excluded trade-related travels, it did block a majority of immigrants from entering the country. In a post-COVID-19 world where the European Union has also closed its borders since March 17, this creates a host of problems for immigrants who are trying to find safe haven.
Border Closings Only Make a Difficult Life More Challenging
Having faced a world of unimaginable difficulties, immigrant communities are not new to the challenges of life. But this doesn’t mean that it makes their suffering any easier to bear.
Dealing with socio-economic difficulties is often an unavoidable part of immigrant life; while facing racism and unfound discrimination is also a regular occurrence. Overall, immigrants have to adapt to lifestyle disparities that no one would wish to experience.
But given a choice between life-threatening consequences in their home territory and a slightly better shot at life in another country, immigrants have no option but to put on a brave face in the hopes of somewhat better living conditions.
The latest border closings by the U.S. only add more stress to an already daunting life challenge, and make it almost impossible for immigrants to avail the opportunities previously available to them.
Uncertainty and Blocks Have Impeded the Journey of Many Migrants
According to reports, immigrants from several countries have been finding it difficult to gain entry into the U.S. long before the immigration ban.
In some cases, the immigrants have been unable to discover safe channels of travel amid the novel coronavirus outbreak. In other scenarios, they have been unlikely to find people who would otherwise help them reach the U.S. border. Even while being close to the border itself, immigrant shelters have not seen new arrivals in weeks.
Popular Central American countries including El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have signed immigration agreements with the U.S. government, which has further impeded the efforts of migrants from these countries to reach the U.S. As of early April, all three of these countries had facilitated deportation flights carrying their citizens from the U.S.
At the time of writing, the U.S. immigration ban on Green Cards has further dampened the spirits of immigrants who had been vying to find new life in the country. According to experts, extended border closures are not the answer to finding a cure for the novel coronavirus outbreak, but it might just be the option of choice for those who want to curb immigration by any means possible.