Prof. Emmanuel Mauleón Interviewed by Asahi Shimbun About the Intensification of Crackdowns on Unauthorized Immigrants

Professor Emmanuel Mauleón was interviewed by the Japanese news site Asahi Shimbun about how the recent violence that occurred in Minneapolis is a symptom of the general violence by immigration enforcement officers in the United States. Prof. Mauleón said, “To understand this issue, we must first consider the history of the United States as a nation of immigrants. Since its founding, the United States has given preferential treatment to white Europeans, and has not welcomed other immigrants. A law passed immediately after the United States’ independence stipulated that only “free white people” could obtain citizenship, and this situation continued for a long time. In an effort to change this, non-white people fought numerous legal battles. There are currently people within the Trump administration who are strongly committed to returning the country to a white-dominated order, which I believe is what is driving their stance of cracking down on non-European immigrants and immigrants of color.”