The treatment of Haitian migrants at the Texas-Mexico border in recent news has brought to light an area of systemic injustice in the United States. Recently, pictures have circulated social media depicting U.S. border patrol agents riding on horses and using whips to force Haitian migrants into a river and away from the United States. Earlier this year the president of Haiti was assassinated and there was a devastating earthquake which led to many Haitian immigrants coming to America in order to find a refuge. However, they are being met with poor treatment due to the United State’s long history of immigration restrictions. The image above (to the left) compares these actions to that of slave owners, and as you can see there are many similarities between the two.
In 2020, Donald Trump passed an authorization which allowed for the immediate deportation of migrants due to Covid-19 concerns. This country has a long history of passing acts to prevent and complicate immigration. Politicians throughout history have used their power to enact and maintain racially and ethnically motivated policies such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and Trump’s ban of immigrants from largely Muslim countries. This concept of nativism, which is hostility toward immigrants due to the fact that they are foreign born, has been present in America since the beginning and its presence is still very well known. The actions of these border agents in forcibly removing these migrants instead of offering them a place of refuge continues the trend.
The views and actions of people in power in the United States need to change in order to prevent this from taking place, however another elected president can overturn any progress we may make towards remedying this injustice. These actions however are reinforced by the history of discrimination and hatred toward immigrants. The history of restricting acts passed to limit immigrant groups and the failed attempts at reform have allowed this to occur for over 150 years. The poor treatment and forced deportation of migrants, especially those trying to seek refuge from a country in turmoil, is very much a systemic injustice that is present in our nation.
I would consider these Haitian immigrants to be subalterns in American society due to their intersectionality of being black and an immigrant. Historically both groups have been discriminated against in America however have been able to achieve power to an extent. We see this power with Barack Obama being elected President of the United States and foreign born celebrities gaining status. However, this intersection of race and immigration status, results in the positioning of these individuals as being a subaltern in society, having no say or access to power, and physically being forced away.
Resources:
https://globalnews.ca/news/8208877/haitian-migrants-mexico-texas-border/
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/09/20/border-patrol-texas-del-rio/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-58654351
https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/why-are-haitian-migrants-gathering-us-border