ANDREI DAMBULEFF – Some attitudes in the United States are evocative of 6-year-olds hanging out in treehouses or playing a game of kickball during recess where the group as a collective is staunchly inflexible, nailing a sign above the treehouse entrance that has scrawled on it “No Girls Allowed.” Those feelings claw their way up to our country’s highest office. Trump’s Muslim ban has rightfully been so far a failure, with the federal courts and the public fighting to destroy it.[1] The offense has not been translucent or elusive, but that hasn’t deterred at least one other government from implementing an immigration travel ban of its own.
Argentina instituted a new policy to deal with people entering the country from other poorer countries in the continent on January 27, 2017.[2] The main thrust of the new law is to make it easier for Argentinian officials to prevent people from coming in and to deport some immigrants already in the country.[3] The implementation seemed to focus mostly on people from Bolivia, Paraguay, and Peru.[4]
The parallels to the Trump’s ban are so obvious as to defy thoughts the timing of Argentina’s move is simply coincidental. Correlation does not necessarily mean causation, but one needs to read one quote from Argentina’s security minister to think things are fishy:
“Peruvian and Paraguayan citizens come here and end up killing each other for
control of the drug trade. A lot of Paraguayans, Bolivians and Peruvians get involved
as either capitalists or mules, as drivers or as part of the drug trafficking chain.”[5]
Thus is the defense of the law: bad people are coming into Argentina, selling drugs, shooting people, influencing children, damaging neighborhoods, and instilling fear. Argentina’s president said the goal of the law is to prioritize the safety of Argentinians and that Argentinians need to protect themselves.[6] Of course, the rationalization is not obscene or bizarre. Some of the criminals in Argentina are immigrants.[7] But the question, as it was here at home, is whether restrictions based solely on where people are coming from is the best answer to a problem. In Argentina, about six percent of people incarcerated are immigrants.[8]
The immigration ban was issued by decree, not through the traditional legislative process.[9] Under it, immigrants have one week to file an appeal of a deportation order.[10] Before the decree, they had thirty days.[11] The measure instills a stricter review of immigrants from other South American countries, and allows for deportation of immigrants for any crime that could lead to a prison sentence.[12] Exactly how all of the rules will play out is unclear.
The similarities to Trump’s attempted ban are not universal though. It is still possible for an immigrant from Bolivia, for example, to enter Argentina. He or she is not banned absolutely.[13] Additionally, the general public has mostly accepted the new law. There have yet to be any large-scale protests, and polling shows satisfaction.[14]
This is not reflected in the governmental side of things, though. Bolivia’s president, Evo Morales, said countries cannot be allowed to “build walls between each other,” and his government minister characterized the ban as xenophobic.[15]
Ultimately, time will tell what the results of the ban will be. The process is already slower than what transpired in the United States. Coverage of immigrants denied entry into Argentina will likely not be as encompassing, and obviously Americans are not going to be as emotionally invested. Surely, though, there exist Argentinians who oppose the new measure, who will speak out against it. And South Americans countries who feel slighted or attacked, having already expressed disapproval, may take actions of their own. Time will tell.
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[1] David Gutman, Trump Administration Appealing Seattle Judge’s Halt Of Refugee Travel Ban, The Seattle Times (Feb. 4, 2017) http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/trump-administration-appeals-seattle-judges-halt-of-refugee-travel-ban/.
[2] Uki Goni, Argentina Sees Migration Ban And Border Wall Proposals In Immigration Row, The Guardian (Feb. 3, 2017) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/03/argentina-sees-migration-ban-and-border-wall-proposals-in-immigration-row.
[3] Alice Bryant, Argentina Amends its Immigration Law, Speeds Up Deportations, Learning English (Feb. 3, 2017) http://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/argentina-amends-immigration-law-speeds-deportations/3701786.html.
[4] Simon Romero & Daniel Politi, Argentina’s Trump-Like Immigration Order Rattles South America, The New York Times (Feb. 4, 2017) https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/04/world/americas/argentinas-trump-like-immigration-order-rattles-south-america.html?_r=0.
[5] Uki Goni, Argentina Sees Migration Ban And Border Wall Proposals In Immigration Row, The Guardian (Feb. 3, 2017) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/03/argentina-sees-migration-ban-and-border-wall-proposals-in-immigration-row.
[6] Simon Romero & Daniel Politi, Argentina’s Trump-Like Immigration Order Rattles South America, The New York Times (Feb. 4, 2017) https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/04/world/americas/argentinas-trump-like-immigration-order-rattles-south-america.html?_r=0.
[7] Id.
[8] Uki Goni, Argentina Sees Migration Ban And Border Wall Proposals In Immigration Row, The Guardian (Feb. 3, 2017) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/03/argentina-sees-migration-ban-and-border-wall-proposals-in-immigration-row.
[9] Migration (Decree No. 70/2017) (Arg.).
[10] Simon Romero & Daniel Politi, Argentina’s Trump-Like Immigration Order Rattles South America, The New York Times (Feb. 4, 2017) https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/04/world/americas/argentinas-trump-like-immigration-order-rattles-south-america.html?_r=0.
[11] Id.
[12] Migration (Decree No. 70/2017) (Arg.).
[13] Uki Goni, Argentina Sees Migration Ban And Border Wall Proposals In Immigration Row, The Guardian (Feb. 3, 2017) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/03/argentina-sees-migration-ban-and-border-wall-proposals-in-immigration-row.
[14] Simon Romero & Daniel Politi, Argentina’s Trump-Like Immigration Order Rattles South America, The New York Times (Feb. 4, 2017) https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/04/world/americas/argentinas-trump-like-immigration-order-rattles-south-america.html?_r=0.
[15] Uki Goni, Argentina Sees Migration Ban And Border Wall Proposals In Immigration Row, The Guardian (Feb. 3, 2017) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/03/argentina-sees-migration-ban-and-border-wall-proposals-in-immigration-row.
