Keeping Out Immigrants Is Nothing New

I'm somewhat intrigued that people are upset with Trump over his suggestion that Muslims should be temporarily denied immigration privileges in the US. I’m neither Democrat, Republican or theist. People just don’t care or want to invest the time in looking back over our past immigration history. We as a nation have done a lot worse, to many more.

In the 1880’s, there were riots in the northwest over Chinese immigrants taking away jobs. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, suspending the admission of Chinese laborers for ten years. They were prevented from owning land. How are they doing today? We owe them billions in loans.

In 1903, there was the Anarchists Exclusion Act, "Foreign-born political radicals stirred public concern…rising religious differences between largely Protestant natives and Catholic immigrants, alien troublemakers -- anarchists -- were afoot on American soil..”.

In 1907 the Expatriation Act revoked the citizenship of any woman that married a foreigner.

In 1911 the Dillingham Commission appointed by Teddy Roosevelt issued a 42-volume report which concluded that “the new immigrants from southern and eastern Europe tended to be less skilled, less literate... The commission affirmed that 'further general legislation concerning the admission of aliens should be based primarily upon economic or business considerations.” How would this go over today?

In 1915, congress authorizes Mounted Inspectors along the Mexican border, spanning all the way to California. “Although these inspectors had broader arrest authority, they still largely pursued Chinese immigrants trying to avoid the Chinese exclusion laws.” Even with all that in place, over 17,000 Chinese still managed to get in illegally.

In 1922, - Ozawa v. US Supreme Court Decision Declares Japanese Ineligible for Citizenship.

In 1927 – “US Labor Secretary Estimates That over 1,000,000 Mexicans Are in United States Illegally”. How about the Alien Registration Act of 1940? This law required “all alien residents in the United States over 14 years of age to file a comprehensive statement of their personal and occupational status and a record of their political beliefs. Within four months a total of 4,741,971 aliens had been registered. The main objective of the act was to undermine the American Communist Party and other left-wing political groups in the United States. One of the first men to be arrested and imprisoned under the act was James Cannon, the national secretary of the Socialist Workers Party." Think Bernie Sanders fans would disapprove?

When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, we nuked two cities and jailed Japanese Americans. What would have happened if 9/11 occurred in that era? Maybe the Middle East would have been converted to an ashen heap. The beloved Jimmy Carter deported Iranians during the hostage crisis in 1980. And let’s not forget the slaughter of native Americans who were just crushed in the “expansion” from day one.

We are a nation of hypocrites ignorant of our past, driven by internet memes and slogans on social media. The only reason the GOP candidates came out against Trump’s remark was because they know it will help them in the polls, they don’t give a crap about Muslims either. Perhaps we should thank Trump, as focusing on a religious cult might bring attention to the harmful nonsense foisted upon society by all religious cults, including Christianity. How about referring to people from the Middle East as just plain people, or “Middle Easterners”? Why do they have to be Muslims? (of course we know why). Do we refer to Europeans as Christians? As long as we segment people by religion, it will never be one true world. This is all fueled by the corporate-owned mainstream media, who wants us arguing over immigration while the companies they own build more bombs and planes to scorch the earth where ISIS apparently resides. We just play right into their hands, willingly! They are laughing at how easy it is. Trump sucks, Hillary is a liar, Bernie is a socialist!

In times of war or turmoil, it is not uncommon for countries to barricade themselves from intruders, real or imagined. Right now, dark-skinned people from the Middle East, especially those that insist on wearing clothing that is identical to their original culture, are being targeted. The west does not delineate between Wahabi, Shiites, and Sunni. It's all just Islam to them, and keep them out. It's that simple. It's not right, fair, or politically correct. It's just how the majority of westerners see them. I don't know the answer, I think it is an unsolvable problem.

In the meantime, Trump offers a bigoted "something", as opposed to Progressives who want to welcome everyone in. Videos of "Muslim" immigrants torching and looting the cities they inhabit in Europe are not helping. What's the answer? Where will the money come from to take care of millions of immigrants worldwide? Where will they work? Where will they live? Who will feed them? How will they acquire skills? Has anyone seen how Walmart treats it's own AMERICAN workers? How will the hospitals handle the influx?

Source:

immigration.procon.org...

You may have forgot a more recent POTUS that rounded up our southern cousins and I believed he closed the border to them as well. That POTUS was Dwight Eisenhower.

a reply to: eggman90

In times of war or turmoil, it is not uncommon for countries to barricade themselves from intruders, real or imagined.

You are correct, it is commonsense to protect yourself if possible from a possible threat. It makes absolutely no sense to fight an enemy abroad and make no attempts to keep those enemies outside of your camp.

It is not a matter of being PC or even being xenophobic, as some wish to label it. If you raise pigs, you don't open your sties to allow in the wild boar. Your disdain for the wild boar, doesn't mean you hate all pigs.

Commonsense, in America in particular, is extinct, and the patient's are now running the asylum. Of course it is okay to comment on keeping any other groups of people out of America, and they have been doing it for years, especially with the Mexicans and the Haitians.

But for some reason there is this new campaign that is permeating America and ATS, that makes Islam and Muslims off limits, unless you are singing their praises, protecting them, or reciting nothing but positive passages from the Quran. It is creating a great rift, and I honestly believe their real goal is not to give support, but to divide and to create animosity.