In the unrelenting drive to crack down on immigration in America, the Donald Trump Administration has announced an indefinite suspension of the processing of immigrant visas to the United States.

This new measure will affect 75 countries, including Jamaica. It does not affect student, business, or visitors’ visas, but those who want to live in the country.

Needless to say, this has sent shock waves throughout the country and the Jamaican Diaspora in the US. What this means is that immediately no processing of immigrant visas, whether advanced or just beginning, will be entertained. And this for no specific time frame. You can just imagine the shock and distress that people are feeling, especially those who might just be at the end process of their application after a very long wait, to be told that the process has ended, at least for now. Consider the years of patience and the money that would have been expended to reach this point. Consider also the fact that the rules may change overnight and their efforts would have been in vain.

Let us be clear from the outset that it is the right and remit of any sovereign nation to decide its immigration policies, to restrict who can visit the country from elsewhere, and to determine whatever methodologies will be used to support its policies. Traditionally, America’s posture on immigration has been quite welcoming of the international community. People from all over the world, barring none, want to visit he US, and many eventually want to live in it given the promise of America. Indeed, America, perhaps more than any other country, enjoys the prosperity it does today because of its robust immigration policy and welcoming attitude to the people of the world over several generations.

Now things are not “normal” in America, and immigration is at the top of the totem pole of this lack of normality. By its philosophy and tactics, the Trump Administration has signalled to the world that it will not be business as usual when it comes to immigration. Thus, its brutal crackdown and deportation of suspected immigrants and the generation of fear among legal applicants and even naturalised citizens living in the country.

The gravamen of the most recent edict is that those who seek immigrant visas are doing so to take welfare from American citizens at unacceptable levels. Never mind that these levels have not been defined. One is not even sure if these levels can even be defined. What seems clear is that, generally speaking, immigrants to the United States do not come to the country because they want to be a burden to the State. The conscientious ones, and I would think that most are, know what they are up against and know that if they ever should be allowed to live and work in America, they have to demonstrate the requisite work ethic that can make their lives liveable. If they have a family, this concern becomes even more important.

They are generally hard-working and purposeful in what they try to do, recognising that they are not first-class citizens and the deck for a decent living may have already been stacked against them. They know the value of being law-abiding and of pulling their weight to integrate themselves in a largely unknown and sometimes hostile environment. The vast majority does so by educating themselves and their families, working hard, and paying their taxes and getting involved in community activities as they seek to integrate themselves in the communities in which they live.

It is in this category that Jamaicans fall. I believe this also applies to all Caribbean nationals in the US, but I will stick to Jamaica for now. Any careful study will show that Jamaicans are amongst the most hard-working and purposeful immigrants living in the US. Long before Trump came on the scene they saw America as every other immigrant to the country sees it: a place where dreams can be realised. If they could not make it in their home countries, America presented an opportunity for them to do so. There are those, thankfully in the small minority, who make a mess of this opportunity and get involved in illegal schemes. There are also those who fall by the wayside because of sloth and indolence and thus become a burden to the State. But the vast majority frown on welfare and believe it is beneath their dignity to look to the State for a handout. They will only do so if it really becomes necessary.

However good things may be going for us there is always the possibility for cracks to develop in our lives. Despite our best efforts they may progress to wide chasms. When this happens we have to seek help, and government welfare programmes will often provide a crutch to lean on.

Of one thing you can be certain about the Jamaican immigrant in America: They are not beggars. They only ask for doors of opportunity to be opened to them as it is for others. They will work within the constraints of the law to do good for themselves and their families. But they are not looking for any handout from the State. The Jamaican immigrant work ethic is among the best you can find in the American population. They are innovative and forward-looking and often are the envy of their counterparts in the US. If they suffer a setback and have to seek government assistance, they will do so reluctantly and only after they have scoured every avenue and could not find a way out.

So it is an insult based on arrogance and ignorance that Jamaicans should be deemed to be taking welfare from American citizens. But just like the tariffs, I expect President Trump to open a way for countries on the list to have individual dialogue with American authorities on a way forward. It is clear that the policy was not well thought out in terms of the reason given.

There is an insidious agenda behind this policy, an agenda that has characterised the brutal crackdown that the Administration has embarked on since Trump 2.0. It is part of a persistent belief that immigration is changing the racial characteristics of America and everything must be done to stop the “carnage”. It is part of the trend in developed societies, especially in Europe, to restrict the flow of ethnic minorities into their countries. In America, it is on steroids.

The grave danger is this chaotic approach to immigration creates a lot of uncertainty and fear among people. The more brutal the assault on the illegal immigrant, the greater the message that citizens of certain “rectal-defined” countries are not welcome in the US. This is a downright shame and an insult to a country that has been made the number one power in the world because of its robust immigration policy ever since the birth of the nation. If the present atmosphere was not so hostile to immigration, this fact of America as the leading immigrant nation should be at the top of the agenda celebrating the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding. The recent visa halt may be just a fly in the ointment, so to speak, but it is part of a larger agenda that should cause all well-thinking Americans to hang their heads in shame.

But members of the Jamaican Diaspora in the US must take pride in the fact that they have contributed to the building of the US, albeit it is now going through unnecessary gyrations of anger, hatred, bigotry, and hard-fisted Government. I suspect the authorities in Kingston have already engaged US government officials in dialogue. As he has done in other matters in his treatment of individual countries, I expect Trump will exempt Jamaica in due course from this list. After all, Secretary of State Marco Rubio on his visit to Jamaica lauded the country a great friend.

But we must not fawn to America and give anyone the impression that we are beggars. We hold our own proudly in whatever station we find ourselves. This is more than can be said of many native-born Americans. We must not sell our dignity for a mess of pottage.

Dr Raulston Nembhard is a priest, social commentator, and author of the books Finding Peace in the Midst of Life’s Storms; Your Self-esteem Guide to a Better Life; and Beyond Petulance: Republican Politics and the Future of America. He hosts a podcast — Mango Tree Dialogues — on his YouTube channel. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or stead6655@aol.com.

Raulston Nembhard

Donald Trump (Photo: AFP)