Recent History and the Immigration Rights Movement

 
History shows that immigration is America’s long-standing and still unresolved issue until recently, social movements emerged, such as the immigration rights movement. In the 1990s, the Battle of Seattle marked the rise of the immigrant rights movement, which was partly mobilized by the labor movement as well (Nicholls, 2019). It was accompanied by a surge in anti-immigrant sentiment during the same period. In 1998, the prioritization of inclusiveness and diversity emerged as a clear mission (Nicholls, 2019). On December 16, 2005, H.R. 4437 was introduced, which sought to make being an undocumented immigrant a felony (Nicholls, 2019). Chicago was a place of major protest by the opposition in 2006, which was followed by large marches across the US (Nicholls, 2019). The Bush Administration was blamed for the criminalization of immigrants. The Obama Administration introduced DACA “provided protection from deportation and work authorization to persons who arrived as minor children and had lived in the United States since June 15, 2007” (Immigration and Ethnic History Society, 2019, para. 98). In 2019, the Trump Administration ordered Muslim Travel Ban and added public charge during an applicant evaluation process.

Milestones of the Immigration Rights Movement
From the historical analysis presented, it becomes evident that immigration was always a significant legislative issue, which has a tendency to restrict or ban access to specific groups, both ethnic and racial. Throughout history, milestones in the US immigration policies were achieved with the use of the Supreme Court, such as United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898). The protests have always been powerful in showing and expressing the population’s discontent and outrage with proposed bills and regulatory changes. However, it is important to note that the milestones of the Immigration Rights Movement are primarily reflected in a gradual change of the social sentiment and legislative framework toward more inclusion, diversity, and openness. The anti-immigration forces operate under the power theory of racial threat and group power (Filindra, 2018).

Immigration and Voting: Understanding Political Power
A democracy is conducted through a voting process, where citizens elect their representatives to make key decisions in major important areas, including immigration. Since 1996, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act banned noncitizen voting, which resulted in a significant power shift (Hayduk & Coll, 2018). According to the conflict theory in sociology, any given society is always in a perpetual conflict, and the act was a major win for anti-immigrant groups (Davidov et al., 2018). The result is the substantial reduction of political power and the voice of the pro-immigrant side in the legislative decision-making process. Under such a framework, the immigrants themselves are removed from the conflict balance, making them reliant on pro-immigrant American citizens. The key political players in the Senate are the ‘Gang of Six’ and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. The gang is bipartisan, whereas the caucus is pro-immigrant, and they are a minority in the legislative arena due to many states being anti-immigrant by default.

Pro-Immigrant Strategies: Sanctuary
The Sanctuary Movement recently reemerged under the Trump era as a popular movement to protect and defend communities of color and immigrants. It is stated that “in the Trump era, activists are once again proclaiming various institutional spaces—from college campuses to entire cities—sites of sanctuary” (Barron, 2017, p. 190). However, it is important to note that the Sanctuary Movement dates back to the 1980s when the movement fought against US-backed wars and the persecution of asylum seekers from Central America (Barron, 2017, p. 190). Therefore, the most recent version of the Sanctuary Movement primarily focuses on internal affairs, such as the deportation of ‘illegal aliens’ or discriminatory actions against people of color. Historically, the movement fought against external policies of the United States, such as wars and selective immigration policies.

Pro-Immigrant Strategies: Sanctuary Tactics
The first tactic used by the Sanctuary Movement and its activists is called ‘framing,’ which is based on bringing attention to the violence committed against immigrants by focusing on their identities. It is stated that the movement “sought to put a human face on the tragedy to evoke empathy in the United States … to the needs of those being forced out of a war-torn region” (Barron, 190). The second tactic is creating sanctuary cities or ‘solidarity cities,’ and the core goal is to provide a safe location, space, and region for persecuted immigrants and people of color (Maira, 2019, p. 140). For example, Rev. Mike Yoshii stated that “the city of Alameda has declared it is a sanctuary city. Our church was always a sanctuary space” (Maira, 2019, p. 143). I think both strategies are highly effective because the former humanizes disadvantaged groups, and the latter provides safe havens.