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THE STAR BUSINESSWEEK
JULY 7, 2018
WWW.STLUCIASTAR.COM
LOOKING BEYOND THE WALL: THE CARIBBEAN AND THE US ON IMMIGRATION BY ED KENNEDY, STAR BUSINESSWEEK CORRESPONDENT
The STAR Businessweek BY CHRISTIAN WAYNE – EDITOR AT LARGE
I must begin by thanking the readers who wrote to us with their opinions and perspectives on the issues discussed in last weekend’s special Disaster Preparedness issue of The STAR
TRUMP’S BRAND OF FOREIGN POLICY
Businessweek. If you didn’t have a chance to get a copy of the 12-page supplement, head over to www.issuu.com/starbusinessweek to catch up on some of our back-issues. This week we’re shifting gears from resilience-building to a different type of protection— data protection. In particular, today’s lead story considers what the European Union’s new data protection laws (GDPR) mean for Caribbean-based businesses with European clients. The GDPR is a watershed piece of legislation meant to equip consumers with authority over their personal data—but the law’s reach extends far beyond the borders of Belgium. Read Prioritising Privacy, starting on the cover, for more. The GDPR partly governs the manner in which customer data is permitted to travel throughout, and outside of, European borders but if you’ve been watching the news, you’d know that data isn’t the only issue facing border zones around the world. STAR Businessweek correspondent Ed Kennedy is taking a look at one of the most salient immigration disputes on the airwaves—the US-Mexican border zone—and how elections around the world are increasingly being defined by border security and immigration concerns rather than the value of open-borders and multi-culturalism. I found the writer’s comparison between the US-Mexico border dispute and the influx of Venezuelan immigrants and asylum-seekers to the Caribbean particularly interesting. Check out Looking Beyond the Wall here on page 2.
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to maintain the post-war liberal order. The democratic tradition of readily giving shelter to refugees in need is being tested like never before. Anti-immigration sentiment was a key element in the Trump election, the Brexit vote, and recent German election. Whether one agrees with this sentiment or not, it’s been a key part of many significant global elections. The pro-immigration argument is compelling but also relatively straightforward. Advocates say a compassionate society has a duty to welcome others in need and, even if it strains resources, there is always ‘enough food to go around the dinner table’. The anti-immigration argument is more complex. It typically cites security risks, population growth and jobs, and foreign relations.
“We have people coming into the country or trying to come in, we’re stopping a lot of them, but we’re taking people out of the country. You wouldn’t believe how bad these people are,” said Trump back in May during a speech hammering California for its sanctuary policies
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ast month was one of big contrasts for all nations throughout the New World. The awarding of the 2026 World Cup to the US, Canada and Mexico was not only celebrated by its host nations, but throughout the Caribbean and the Americas. The hosting of the World Cup was awarded after a personal assurance by US President Donald Trump that he would not block visas to visitors in 2026. The US celebrated this victory, and the good will that follows it. Then the most harrowing immigration scandal of recent times broke out in the US, and much of the goodwill generated by the Cup award was undone. The scandal arose after outcry at US policy that separated suspected illegal adult immigrants from their children when detained on US soil. Criticism was so pronounced and widespread that even First Lady Melania Trump—herself an immigrant and occupying a role usually seen as apolitical—said she “hates to see children separated” and that the US should “govern with heart”. The Trump Administration has since
revised the policy, and children won’t be separated in future (although reuniting those previously separated from parents won’t happen immediately). Though the White House would now wish to put this behind it, the matter has renewed attention on Trump’s immigration policy, and especially as it relates to security and humanity in Latin America.
THE GLOBAL IMMIGRATION DEBATE
It’s commonly said that a week is a long time in politics. So it can be no surprise that the world looks very different in 2018 than it did in 2008 or earlier. Yet compared to just five years ago, the world has been truly up-ended. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, the revisionist Xi has ascended in China, the UK wants out of Europe, and President Donald Trump is often seen not as the leader of the free world, but as a mix of warmonger and disinterested bystander globally. Events are individual but trends are collective, and two are central to these global events. The return of assertive undemocratic power in the East, and the fatigue among western nations tasked to do the work required
Trump has declared immigration a national security issue, that immigrants take jobs from Americans, and that ‘closing the borders’ sends a message to everyone that America is strong. Security and immigration have a complex relationship, especially in an era of global terrorism. Yet when it comes to immigrants’ impact on a national economy, the data has long been clear. As opposed to diminishing economic growth, immigrants boost it. Yes, there are qualifiers here—whether the immigrants are skilled professionals and where they resettle can impact—but overall, a US president intent on growing an economy shouldn’t decry immigration, he should champion it. Were he to do so, he’d find in the Caribbean many leaders ready to partner with him on our key challenge. In March up to 3,000 Venezuelans a day were seeking to cross the border into Colombia, joining over 250,000 held to have done so since August 2017. Colombia’s recent dispatch of troops to the border mirrors the presence of the United States Border Patrol along the Mexican border. An active force seeking to keep back anyone who would attempt passage for any reason. Then there’s been the flare-up in Trinidad and Tobago with the UN accusing the nation of forcibly deporting 82 asylumseekers. For Trump and the US this distinction is vital. The White House can restrict immigrants who seek jobs or a greater lifestyle in the US. Yet asylum-seekers fleeing due to political reasons that give them a “credible fear” for their life, have a much lower bar of entry. So much so that out of 8,757 Venezuelans who applied as Continued on page 5
