The Trump Administration’s plan to collect DNA from detained immigrants illustrates cultural threat and realistic group conflict. The administration feels a threat to our national security by immigrants, so they want to take samples of their DNA and add it to the FBI’s database, CODIS (Eidelman, 2019). CODIS is used to investigate crimes by law enforcement agencies. Immigrants are seen not only as a social and cultural threat, but also a safety threat to citizens. Immigrants are portrayed as mostly different to U.S. citizens, which causes citizens to feel threatened, and keeps increasing prejudice (Zarate, 2004).
A recent example of empathy toward immigrants is Scott Warren, who was arrested for trying to protect migrants from border security and leaving water at the border for immigrants. Despite facing a potential 20 year prison sentence, Warren risked his freedom for what he called “basic human kindness” (Carranza, 2019). Anxiety toward immigrants is shown in responses to sanctuary state legislation in New Jersey, meant to encourage people to report crimes without fear of deportation. However, many people, because of prejudices, feel it is more dangerous to protect undocumented people than to have crimes go unreported, and they been fighting against this change (Tulley, 2019).
US-Canada border community is becoming a tense point of intergroup contact through increasing border security, it switched from voluntary contact (US or Canadian neighbors) to involuntary contact (border security). Prejudices can decrease through both indirect and direct contact. That changed with border security, Canadian immigrants feel an increased threat to see their neighbor, while US border patrol has increased anxieties for drug smugglers (Burnett, 2019). When groups feel threatened and contact was involuntary, prejudice can increase through intergroup contact (Pettigrew et al., 2011). One example of decreasing prejudice is how California is extending healthcare to illegal immigrants (Bacon, 2019). Intergroup contact through health care may help provide intimacy, empathy, trust, and forgiveness that all helps reduce prejudice (Pettigrew et al., 2011).
Burnett, John (2019, 21 November). U.S.-Canada border community’s culture changes as security tightens. National Public Radio. https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/morning-edition/npr-story/781138076
Bacon, John (2019, 10 June). California to become the first state to extend health benefits to some who live in USA illegally. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/06/10/california-health-care-immigrants-insurance/1406629001/
Carranza, Rafael ( 2019, 20 November). Jury acquits Arizona border volunteer Scott Warren of harboring immigrants. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/11/20/arizona-border-activist-scott-warren-acquitted-harboring-immigrants/4255342002/
Eidelman, Vera (2019, 7 November). Privacy at risk: Trump plan to collect DNA from detained immigrants should alarm all of us. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/11/07/trump-dna-collection-detained-immigrants-privacy-rights-column/2510652001/
Tully, Tracey (2019, 8 November). In blue New Jersey, a conservative backlash on immigration. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/08/nyregion/nj-immigration-ice.html
