Trump to Publish Weekly List of Crimes Committed by Immigrants

by Josh Guckert

As reported by The Independent, President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order which requires the Secretary for Homeland Security to “make public a comprehensive list of criminal actions committed by aliens” in the United States. Apparently, this list will be comprised of all immigrants rather than those who are undocumented.

The move is eerie and has drawn comparisons to numerous other instances in history. As The Independent states:

The decision to publish a list of immigrant crimes is reminiscent of the ‘Black crime’ listings on Breitbart News – the far-right website that until recently was run by Steve Bannon, who is now Mr Trump’s chief strategist.

Additionally, Culture Editor for The Independent Christopher Hooton tweeted a similarity between Trump’s plan and publicity moves to marginalize Jews in Nazi Germany:

Nazi Germany vs. Trump Administration, compare and contrast pic.twitter.com/s5SAIczj4Y

— Christopher Hooton (@ChristophHooton) January 26, 2017

The result could be similar to the ongoing phenomenon in which black men are over-represented in media in a negative light, particularly as criminal suspects. As The Guardian notes:

In a 2011 study, Media Representations & Impact on the Lives of Black Men and Boys, conducted by The Opportunity Agenda, negative mass media portrayals were strongly linked with lower life expectations among black men. These portrayals, constantly reinforced in print media, on television, the internet, fiction shows, print advertising and video games, shape public views of and attitudes toward men of color. They not only help create barriers to advancement within our society, but also “make these positions seem natural and inevitable”.

Accordingly, this move by the Trump Administration is very likely an attempt to make Americans associate immigrants with crime and other negative traits. Of course, this is no different than what Trump did during his campaign, as the Republican National Convention included speeches from family members of those killed by undocumented immigrants. This is in spite of the fact that immigrants commit less crime than native-born Americans.

When immigrants (including the undocumented) commit crime, they should be punished just the same as anyone else. But by promoting and priming a certain negative image of this group in spite of a much different reality, Trump is engaging in nothing short of propaganda. Those in favor of the natural rights of all beings must speak out anytime that this presidential administration attempts to vilify or scapegoat immigrants in an attempt to sway public opinion.