- Anbinder, T.; 2019, November 7th; Trump has spread more hatred of immigrants than any American in history, The Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/trump-has-spread-more-hatred-of-immigrants-than-any-american-in-history/2019/11/07/7e253236-ff54-11e9-8bab-0fc209e065a8_story.html
In this article, Anbinder details how Trump has spread more hatred based in racist, pro-nativist beliefs than any other president in history. Trump has stated that Mexican immigrants “don’t assimilate… their religion is incompatible with American values; they can never be “true Americans”” (Anbinder, 2019). Zárate’s findings showed that “immigrants different from the norm pose a threat to the ‘‘social fabric” of the host country and are subsequently evaluated more negatively” which is consistent with Trump’s rhetoric (2004). Using immigrants as a scapegoat for competition of resources can create realistic group conflict between immigrants and citizens while deflecting blame away from billionaires like Trump.
- De Luna Navarro, J; 2019, November 12; For undocumented immigrants, our enforcement policies drive a public mental health crisis, USA Today, https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2019/11/12/daca-undocumented-immigrants-mental-health-stress-trauma-column/2562126001/
Halon, Y; 2019, November 11; ‘Wake up, this could’ve been any of us’: Tomi Lahren praises Trump’s wall efforts after cartel massacre, FOX News, https://www.foxnews.com/media/tomi-lahren-praises-trump-wall-efforts-after-cartel-attack
Resident attitudes toward immigration policies are important in the overall perception of immigrants, which can mold identities and intergroup relations. Navarro evokes sympathy for immigrants because, “undocumented life in America is hard on the mind and body” and constant stress “can lead to high blood pressure and contribute to anxiety, depression and addiction” (Navarro, 2019). Tomi Lahren has asserted an opposing viewpoint with claims like “we need a wall… these criminal organizations are ruthless, lawless, well-funded, and have no respect for human life” (Halon, 2019). This outlook of cartels and those outside the USA cause Americans to look at immigrants in a light of fear and horror and needing protection from these people.
- 1. An elementary school in Silicon Valley, California has been named after Filipino immigrant, Jose Antonio Vargas, a local idol to other undocumented immigrants. The school board voted 4 to 0 for the renaming of the school (Mathews, 2019). Intergroup contact itself significantly decreases prejudice, but this effect is compounded because the groups interacted by choice (Pettigrew et al., 2011). 2. On November 4th, nine Americans, including six children, were killed in Sonora, Mexico by cartel members. The reporter became emotional stating “these criminal organizations are ruthless, lawless, well-funded, and have no respect for human life”. This is very likely to increase prejudice because of her blatant aggression towards mexicans and victimisation of Americans. https://www.foxnews.com/media/tomi-lahren-praises-trump-wall-efforts-after-cartel-attack
Nice job linking the articles you found to the readings & elaborating on a socially- and politically-relevant topic! Being able to find connections like this is important because it shows both supporting and opposing evidence for what’s being expressed to the public. Any personal thoughts on these relations and what they might mean from a group standpoint? Would the US population be a group led by a leader (the president), or do you think we’re broken into many hundreds of thousands of groups with many individual leaders?
I like the link between the news articles and the readings. For the article talking about Tomi Lahren, I was wondering how this view she has affects the immigrants? Are there articles that show the fear they have? I liked the first paragraph relating from Zarate to the words that Trump has towards immigrants.