Chapter 3: Undocumented Youth, Agency, and Power: The Tension Between Policy and Praxis

The reality television host Donald Trump stated the above during his announcement that launched his presidential campaign (Lee, 2015). Rather than his xenophobic rhetoric being a liability to his campaign, it instead had the opposite effect and propelled him as the Republican front-runner. The more egregious Donald’s remarks become about undocumented immigrants, particularly Mexicans, the more momentum his campaign gained. It is deplorable that in 2015 citizens of the United States are supporting an individual spouting xenophobic statements and whose biggest campaign weapons include kicking out the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants residing in the United States and building a 2,000-mile border wall that would prevent immigrants from south of the border from entering the country. To surpass the remarks by Mr. Trump, GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson started to gain traction in his campaign when he horrendously proposed to use drone strikes along the southern border to stop the flow of illegal immigration. Why are many voters applauding this rhetoric? Are Latino immigrants really posing a threat to U.S. citizens and the economy? Why is the browning of America posing such a fear for mainstream folk?