The implementation of anti-immigrant policies by Donald Trump, who is in trouble in the U.S. with his past, that started since his election campaign means, no matter how you cut it, that the U.S. is giving up on the fundamental approach that defines it.
America is a New World that was discovered at the end of the 15th century. After its discovery, it was populated and crowded with people from all over the world, mainly and predominantly from Europe, who were pushed by waves of immigration at different times by various factors. The White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASP), who sought freedom and were tired of two major wave wars originated from Europe, and also the other low classes of Europe who sought new opportunities and didn’t hesitate to jump into an adventure were brought in.
In 1776, the United States was established, which bases its founding philosophy on the very lessons derived from this experience. America was going to be a region of freedom and liberation. Moreover, the discovered world was the common discovery of all mankind, and it should’ve been open to those who came from all over the world.
However, although the expression of this philosophy appears to be naïve, the first steps of its implementation evidently involved the brutal genocide of millions of Native Americans, and also the merciless enslavement of millions of blacks from Africa to serve of the New World.
Due to the fact that Native Americans and Africans were probably not seen as human beings in the cosmological sense of the element of WASP, there was no problem concerning their freedom or equality. So, for a long time, the concept of freedom and equality in the United States experienced and developed in an unhealthy manner due to such a contradiction.
On the other hand, the U.S. continued to be open to immigrations from the outside world. The American nation has been formed as a rainbow world with the migration of people from all over, and this has always been regarded as a source of pride in American national discourses. Being born in the United States was considered a good enough reason to be a citizen of the country. This practice is still regarded as a "land right" expressing American identity.
The most important advantage of being open to foreigners is that the United States has attracted the most qualified population around the world. In fact, isn’t this the characteristic of all empires throughout history? The strategies of attracting qualified people from all over the world function like an empire’s a knee-jerk reaction.
None of the American governors have ever thought of making concessions in immigration policy since all of them were aware of the said fact. Because America has always regarded immigrants as a source of their own power.
Despite these differences created by migration, America has not neglected to form a "nation" out of this diverse population by eliminating such differences with an assimilation policy called "the melting pot." This, of course, has had different manifestations, and has not been independent of the racist tensions of those who carefully followed this process and regarded themselves as "real Americans" at all times.
The factions that Trump draws support from and for whom he is a spokesman for creates the historical basis of the Xenophobia, which will ensure that the United States will be dominated by those "real Americans."
There aren’t any humanitarian aspects in the modes of their ownership of America or what it represents today, neither do they have any respect for the cultural diversity that built America through labor and contribution. Until recently, they have exhibited the most brutal racism in the history of mankind against the black population as if it wasn’t enough that they had sucked their blood, enslaved them and exploited their labor; and this potential racism can currently be controlled to a certain extent by suppressing it. That is to say, it can break out again at any time.
Despite this, America still has an ongoing practice with respect to the same founding philosophy. Fifty-five thousand people around the world are given a Green Card every year with a lottery, and Green Card holders can be granted with citizenship after five years. The U.S. Immigration Bureau refers to this practice as "increasing cultural diversity in the country's population.” Though it is essential to increase cultural diversity, immigrants quickly enter a "melting pot". In addition to this practice, especially through brain drain, or through people who are entitled to citizenship by making an investment of $1 million, namely in addition to birth given by U.S. citizens, the United States annually receives nearly 100,000 new citizens from foreign countries. This ratio roughly corresponds to 0,3-0,4 percent of the population.
Incidentally, a certain fact was revealed by the total of this population development in the U.S. In the very near future of America, a change in the opposite direction of the base that Trump represents is anticipated in population balances. The ever-increasing proportion of the Hispanic population especially worries the WASP segment, who consider themselves as the "true owners of America."
Such a concern is quite natural in a sense, because it indicates that the electoral result of the Republican Party, around which the WASP, among the said population balance, has gathered, under the leadership of Trump, is their last election victory. Therefore, it is possible to understand the reasons for the recent aggression of Trump and his supporters.
In fact, America's status as the empire of our time as well as its capability of being a country that uses immigration the most rationally and efficiently so far has made it the most powerful and important nation in the world in many aspects.
The migration in the present world and the different policies of countries to handle this problem requires more attention on this issue. There is a difference between the experiences of the countries which regard immigrants as a humanitarian issue and take on the responsibility, and the ones which regard it as a problem to be struggled with. Turkey's experience in this regard is certainly very distinctive. But is Turkey able to see this beyond an issue of humanity and turn it into an opportunity?
Actually, the aim of starting a discussion with the U.S. is not to just comprehend it better. The issue is more of a particular concern to Turkey and obligates us to develop far sounder policies. It is necessary to analyze how Turkey, which has become the primary sanctuary of the oppressed people in the world and hosts many immigrants and refugees, handles this process, turns it to opportunity and manages it.
