Trump’s new Immigration Policy Under Human Rights Perspective

Reports suggest the Trump administration has toughened the United States (hereinafter “U.S.”) policies regarding illegal immigration. There are several key points of elements under the new directives that are violating the constitutional rights and the human rights of the undocumented immigrants. And because the new administration may likely seek to change laws in ways that could jeopardize the undocumented immigrants’ status, currently the application for citizenship have grown at an increased rate, without pending elections or fee increase. Trump’s new policies concerning illegal immigration provide a significant opportunity to look into the unjustified process of deportation or removal of the undocumented immigrants, which has been going on over the past two decades. This article considers several U.S. deportations of the undocumented immigrant cases, and relevant immigration policies in the U.S., along with the international human rights treaties and statutes, which the member states are required to respect in order to protect the rights of the undocumented immigrants under the norm of human rights. They will show how the modified key elements of Trump’s new directives infringe upon the constitutional rights and the human rights of the undocumented immigrants. I argue that Trump’s new policies concerning illegal immigration must be amended so as to vindicate the rights of the undocumented immigrants, a great number of those who have been residing in the U.S. since they were young of age. It is also necessary to strengthen the normative force of international human rights instruments concerning immigration, which until now, has been partly disregarded by some states. I conclude that the key elements of Trump’s policies concerning illegal immigration are unjustified by reflecting on the crucial role the U.S. illegal immigration policies might have in making a difference in the lives of a great many undocumented immigrants, who are remaining in the U.S. for the better, not only for themselves and their family but also for the benefit of the U.S. itself.