For 240 years the USA has had a loose, natural and functional immigration system that, on the whole, has worked very well for all of the inhabitants of the Americas. Trump has changed all that and is reaping the results.
The system we had been operating under, pre-Trump involved both written and unwritten rules. On the 'written' side, becoming a full fledged US citizen with voting rights and to be able to receive various social benefits etc. has always involved a long tedious application process. Likewise, the system to be formally accepted in the US as an asylum seeker has always been a high hurdle.
On the other hand, our informal system for letting people come in as unregistered temporary workers has always been quite loose. Every year for 240 years, countless undocumented workers have come and gone across the southern border based on the need and availability of work in the US. The flow has always drastically stemmed and flowed based on factors such as whether the US was experiencing a housing boom or bust, whether construction workers were needed or unemployed. Of course the annual needs of the agriculture industry have always been a prime factor.
Under our old system, pre-Trump our illegal immigrant population (IIP) did not steadily rise and never fall. During the housing boom of the 90's and early 2000's the IIP drastically increased and at the end of that boom the IIP drastically decreased.
The 'old system' had many flaws, but all in all it was a benefit to the US and immigrants, while the 'new system' as implemented by president Trump is an unmitigated disaster. The president's 'zero tolerance' for undocumented workers has wrecked havoc on the US agriculture industry and his promise to build a 'Berlin style' wall across our southern border has sent a shock-wave through Central and South America. Seasonal workers and asylum seekers now believe that 'now' may be their last opportunity to ever enter the USA and they are all coming at once.
To make matters worse Mr. Trump has eliminated virtually all humanitarian aid to impoverished nations south of the border making the people there ever more desperate to leave. It's almost as if the president has been intentionally trying to increase illegal immigration in order to make a better case for building 'the wall'. How's that working for you president Trump?
The president's MAGA slogan has turned into TMTWA "Trump Made Things Worse Again".
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