Trump’s obsession with immigration is really an obsession with segregation | Heba Gowayed

His policies are the latest instantiation of a centuries-long American tradition: laws meant to exclude people of color and privilege whiteness

A barrage of executive orders, many concerning immigration, marked Trump's first weeks in office. Maligning people immigrating as a large scale invasion" of potential terrorists", violent", and hostile actors with malicious intent" the EOs call for the slashing of physical and legal pathways to admission, lay the groundwork for mass deportation and attack immigrant rights by attempting to (unconstitutionally) revoke birthright citizenship.

People like Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, are using social media strategically to stoke fear, broadcasting images of Ice raids and deportations to the notorious Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. The administration has also sent an additional 1,500 active duty troops to secure" the southern border.

Heba Gowayed is an associate professor of sociology at CUNY Hunter College and Graduate Center and author of the book Refuge: How the State Shapes Human Potential.