Ok. I know you guys saw the title, now hold on. Before we continue, I understand we, the Irish (in America at least), are not as discriminated against as we were during the mid 19th century, and I understand most of us our well-privileged due to our skin color. But during history as a whole, we’ve still been treated as if we’re “inferior” by other upper class whites. And due to Trump’s immigration policies, we may be facing a rebirth of Anti-Irish sentiment. Here’s why.
Just a bit of a background story about the Irish-Americans: When they first came to America around the 1840’s, they were vilified. Most upper class white Americans viewed them as “inferior” despite the fact that they were White, because most of the Irish weren’t of anglo-saxon or Germanic descent like most white Americans at the time. They did the lower class work no one else wanted. You’d find that in major cities like Chicago, New York City, and Boston, whole roads, railways, and houses were built by all-Irish workers. They were also forced into neighborhoods where African-Americans lived, because they couldn’t find anywhere else to live.
And while that did lead to beautiful, progressive, and wholesome interracial relationships, the Irish were now negatively stereotyped in the same ways as black people and hated even more by other White Americans. However, overtime, we did assimilate enough into American society that we got the chance to prosper which admittedly we only got because of our skin color. But now Trump’s immigration pose a threat once again not just to the Irish, but immigrants and non-upper class White Anglo-Saxon Protestants as a whole. Yes they may be white. Yes, they may be spared the “Go back to where you came from” taunts. But ever since Trump’s presidency began in 2016, many Irish immigrants understandably live in great fear of deportation and xenophobia because of his anti-immigrant policies.
It’s Deja vu all over again.
According to CNN, in an Article published in 2017, around 50,000 undocumented, illegal Irish immigrants live in the U.S. Just like I mentioned earlier, they go through the same scary situations many other illegal immigrants go through. Their fears have gotten worse since the beginning of Trump’s presidency. In that same article, Oliver Charles, a U.S. Citizen and butcher living in the Bronx (who came to America from Ireland 40 years ago) also says the possible deportations of illegal immigrants could harm his business, as many of his customers are undocumented Irish immigrants living in the Bronx.
“I’ve never seen fear like this here...The fear is always there but now everybody is talking about it and everybody is worried...That (the deportation of several thousand Irish immigrants) could affect my business.” - Oliver Charles describing the current state of the (illegal) Irish immigrant community (in New York) during an interview with CNN.
And this fear is justifiable. Look at what Trump’s policies have been on (illegal) immigrants. He imposed a travel ban on several predominantly muslim countries (Which is incredibly bigoted because a lot of the current immigrants coming to America recently have been muslim) a couple years back, obviously with prejudice being a motive, and muslim immigrants and communities have suffered tons of discrimination and profiling under his presidency. Several hispanic immigrants had tear gas thrown at them (by U.S Authorities) near the border and Hispanic-American communities as a whole have suffered from tons of racial profiling and discrimination.
Imagine what could happen to (undocumented) Irish-Americans should these same policies cause thousands of Irish people to be deported. While the few Irish-White upper class citizens may be spared, and while the discrimination may not be as brutal unlike discrimination towards other immigrant communities in the U.S, we (although the chances are obviously slim) risk the same discrimination our ancestors and current immigrant communities face(d). The only way to prevent this is by doing the same things we’ve done with other marginalized groups. Protest, speak out, and take a stand. It may not happen, but it’s clear that under Trump’s rule, Anyone can face bigotry and discrimination. - Nick Legue
Sources/Citations:
O'Sullivan, D.
O'Sullivan, Donie. 2019. "White, Irish, And Undocumented In America". CNN. Accessed February 10 2019. https://www.cnn.com/2017/03/16/us/white-irish-undocumented-trnd/index.html.
Franklin, Cody. 2017. "Why Were The Irish Once Hated In America?". Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvtKolUaMO4.
Trump’s Travel Ban Is Upheld by Supreme Court
"Trump’S Travel Ban Is Upheld By Supreme Court". 2019. Nytimes.Com. Accessed February 10 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/26/us/politics/supreme-court-trump-travel-ban.html.
Emanuella Grinberg and Mariano Castillo, C.
Emanuella Grinberg and Mariano Castillo, CNN. 2019. "US Authorities Fire Tear Gas To Disperse Migrants At Border". CNN. Accessed February 10 2019. https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/25/us/san-ysidro-port-of-entry-closed/index.html.