Donald Trump's Wall Exists!

Source:

https://www.debate.org/opinions/do-you-think-trumps-wall-is-a-good-idea

President Donald Trump since the beginning of his campaign has preached about building a wall to restrict Mexicans from crossing the Mexican-American border. This wall, that represents racism and ignorance has not physically been built but metaphorically it exists. This metaphorical wall created by the Trump administration leaves undocumented immigrant women without accessible health care and overcome with fear, all the while the power of sharing one’s narrative can begin to tear down such a racist patriarchal barrier.

Rosa Maria Hernandez, a 10-year-old undocumented girl with Cerebral Palsy came in contact with this wall and since has become a survivor of this racist patriarchal system which Trump’s presidency has exacerbated within the United States since his time in office.

Rosa encountered this wall one day while she was in an ambulance en route to receiving emergency surgery at a nearby hospital with her cousin when they were stopped by border patrol at a local checkpoint (Campbell, B., 2017, November 04). At this checkpoint, once it was recognized that Rosa was undocumented- border patrol followed her and her family to the hospital. While Rosa began her recovery, as did her legal case (Campbell, B., 2017, November 04).

Although this incident seems horrific and inhumane, this case is not one that is unique to Rosa- instead, it has become a growing issue within the United States since Trump has taken his elected-position as the current president. Trump’s presidency has become an era in which crippling fear is instilled among undocumented immigrants, specifically women. This then leaves this vulnerable population with little to no access to health care, thus leading to life threating ends.

Donald Trump has created this metaphorical wall as a result of his continuous preaching of racism, which has led to proposals and policies being put in place to target this vulnerable population. Such political strategies that have been enacted include an executive order for increased action by ICE and a recent proposal presented by the Trump administration stating that they will “limit legal immigrants’ access to green cards if they use an array of public benefits, including Medicaid, food stamps and federal housing subsidies.” (Staff, S. T., & Times, L. A., 2018, October 11). As ICE will continue to seek out undocumented immigrants, this recent proposal will impact one’s access to care through the use of Medicaid and will impact one’s ability to survive in America.

This current proposal attempts to strong-arm undocumented immigrants into going without any governmental support in fear of reprisal. This attempted power move made by the Trump administration is one more move to create an inhospitable environment for the undocumented immigrants within the United States. Such systems of power ensure that immigrants feel unwelcome, unimportant, and uncared for within the U.S. (Smith-Camejo, J., 2018, September 28).

This hierarchy of power exists to serve as the objective of President Donald Trump’s presidency- thus being to keep Mexicans out of the country by instilling fear in specifically undocumented women. Undocumented women need to specifically be mentioned because women are placed in the position where they are forced to experience a greater number of inequalities.  This is due to the fact that “women and girls are particularly vulnerable because of their disadvantaged position in society in general: they are the majority of the poor, have less access to education and employment opportunities, and are less mobile because of their traditional productive and reproductive roles.” (Torres, A. B., n.d., 3.1). Such roles place women at a greater risk of experienced fear because within a patriarchal society such as the U.S., where women, especially of color are targeted and are placed at the bottom of the patriarchal hierarchy.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVuArWtXArc

As a result of this hierarchy undocumented women placed within a flawed, racist, and misogynistic system, also have to attempt to climb the metaphorical wall that the Trump administration has created. These barriers take an immense toll on these women’s mental, physical, and financial well being. This impact of such barriers has left these women with “cited depression, money worries, and a fear of deportation” (Richter, R. 2015, p.74). Such stressors may arise in the event that a woman or child has to seek care, thus forcing one to consider the risk of seeking care, such as: ‘Is this a matter worth getting deported over?’, ‘Is it worth the money?’, and ‘Am I putting my family at risk?”. These questions will burden any woman in such a position where one's quality of life is at risk.

Although undocumented women carry this significant weight on their back, their dream of living free in America should not be forgotten. This hope can potentially overcome any fear that Trump’s administration produces through their political tactics.

Hope is fostered within the narrative shared amongst communities. Women’s voices embedded within the experience of being a targeted undocumented woman is particularly important when discussing such specific social and political issues. This narrative if shared can create a political conversation about the Trump administration, not only on the topic of restricting one’s human right to health care, but also on the grounds that this administration has been and continues to be extremely oppressive towards immigrants, women, and those of color. While fostering such a conversation allows for the power of narrative to be given back to those who have experienced such trauma. An example of using the power of narrative is presented by a women by the name of Zoila, she reported “I love the United States and they give you a lot of things but they don’t let me be free and get social security [federal benefits].” while also later mentioning that “racism is the reason she has fear, and worries for her family’s safety in the United States” (Richter, R. 2015, p.75). Just as Zoila spoke out about her experience as a mistreated immigrant, Rosa was able to speak out through her shared story as a 10-year-old girl being monitored by border patrol in a hospital. Such shared traumatic experiences allow for the growth of “social power that [had] provide[d] not only catalysts but the very quintessence that propels” social change to begin through the empathetic community of Americans and/or immigrants (Richter, R. 2015, p.85).

In conclusion, the Trump administration has worked hard to create a racist institutional wall through the ICE and political proposals, which barricades undocumented immigrants from obtaining the ability to live in America free of fear of deportation or worry of sacrificing their health. This metaphorical wall threatens the quality of lives specifically among undocumented women residing in the United States. Although this metaphorical wall has created much fear, hope shall not be lost in the presence of this hate. Rather in the face of this current administration, women experiencing such trauma should speak out and/or share their stories in order to propel change socially in the name of a country that was built on the foundations of being the home of the free and the brave, not the home of the detained and afraid.

Resources:

Campbell, B. (2017, November 04). Girl Detained By Border Patrol After Emergency Surgery Released To Parents. Retrieved October 11, 2018, from https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/11/03/562003841/girl-detained-by-border-patrol-after-emergency-surgery-is-released-to-parents

Richter, R. (2015). Medical outcasts: Gendered and institutionalized xenophobia in undocumented forced migrants emergency health care. Lanham: Lexington Books.

Smith-Camejo, J. (2018, September 28). Trump's Hateful Public Charge Proposal Will Be Deadly for Immigrants Living with HIV and Other Chronic Health Conditions. Retrieved October 11, 2018, from https://www.pwn-usa.org/trumps-hateful-public-charge-proposal-will-be-deadly-for-immigrants-living-with-hiv-and-other-chronic-health-conditions/

Staff, S. T., & Times, L. A. (2018, October 11). 'Heartless, punitive': Health officials, immigrant advocates decry Trump proposal to limit access to green cards if using public benefits. Retrieved October 11, 2018, from https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/heartless-punitive-patient-advocates-decry-trump-move-to-restrict-immigrants-health-care-access/

Torres, A. B. (n.d.). FMO THEMATIC GUIDE: GENDER AND FORCED MIGRATION. Retrieved October 02, 2018, from http://forcedmigration.org/research-resources/expert-guides/gender-and-forced-migration/fmo007.pdf