They stood in twos and threes, holding hands, some having their hands on their heads, some with their arms wrapped round their lovers, others were shedding tears–tears borne of shock; the fear was not just on the Blacks but on the friends of the Blacks. The effect of the triumph of Donald Trump at the polls was immediate on Americans and friends of Americans, their worst fears had just come to reality. To some, that could be the beginning of the end.
The emergence of Donald Trump as the president-elect of the United States of America will go down as one of the biggest shocks of the year. The reactions on the faces of Americans and residents of the nation were mostly that of bewilderment and regret–regret of not taking the threat and the possibility seriously, of not doing enough to stop it from becoming a reality, and, of course, fear of what is to come, of what will be and what will not. As much as there were Whites crying–very sober–there were as much Blacks intermittently shedding tears, but most were too shocked to cry. Angry, dejected, they stood, looking into a largely unseen future.
They have reasons, largely valid, to be afraid. President-elect Donald Trump basically founded his campaign on his plans to get illegal immigrants out of the US. He has even gone on to mention particular set of immigrants he would focus on—the Mexicans. Ordinarily, legal migrants have nothing to fear, if only Trump was clear enough with his words. He proposed not only to stop illegal immigrants from coming in, but also to deport as many as 2-3 million immigrants, and also make the admission of legal immigrants stricter. Why will he do this? To take back America from ‘’aliens’’, to give American jobs back to American, and to reduce unemployment for Americans to as low as possible.
Talking about the threat posed by Africans and Nigerians in particular, Trump reportedly said at a rally in Kansas:
“We have to move Africans. Nigerians are everywhere now. I was at the meeting in Alaska and only Africans were everywhere. Where do you think they are from? From Nigeria! I saw them in each state where they got a job. Why can’t they find a job in the hometown in their native country? I know, because corruption reigns in their country. Their government plunders people. Therefore, they come here and take us away from our work. When I become a President, we will send all of them home. We will construct a wall along the Atlantic coast.”
Even though Donald Trump has appeared softer on his policies in recent times than he was during the campaign, he still appears to take the immigration part of his campaign promises-cum-proposal seriously. In an interview with CBS, Trump reiterated his stand on the place of illegal immigrants—that are criminally profiled–in America. He stated that he will get about two to three million illegal immigrants out by detaining them until they are sent home. Although political commentators have come out to say Trump might not do all he said given the amount of money he would spend, but looking at how determined he seems, and if his words would stand as his bond, then illegal immigrants have all to fear.
Who are the illegal immigrants?
Illegal immigrants are people that either go into or reside in a foreign country without obtaining entry visa or permission of residence, or continue residing in the country after the expiration of their permission of residence. This being the case, illegal immigrants are often undocumented, but that still doesn’t stop them from getting jobs. Having this knowledge, the reason Africans are disturbed by the rhetoric of Trump becomes apparent as a good number of Africans residing in the US are not documented. About 400,000 of the over 3 million Black immigrants in the United States are not documented.
What does Trump’s rhetoric mean for the illegal immigrants?
If Trump’s proposal on immigration policies are implemented, entrance into the US is virtually impossible for “visa-less’’ immigrants. The policy will not only make entrance into US very limited, but also force as many undocumented residents out. It has little or nothing to do with the number of Nigerian students or those planning to go there because the act is legal. However, the act of students staying after the duration of their term will become almost impossible under a Trump government.
Trump’s emergence also means we might be seeing a whole lot of returnees in the country very soon. And with his proposed policy of removing birthright citizenship of illegal immigrants, pregnant women, obsessively eager to give birth to citizens, will have little reason to go to the US. At the extreme, Trump might ban admission of pregnant women into the US. Trump’s presidency, making it hard for people to go into the US, will probably make Nigeria retain her best legs and brains.
The era of deliberate act of staying in the US over and above the stipulated duration on the visitors’ visa—for every foreigner is a visitor until one is granted permanent residence–is as good as gone.
On the political scene, the effect remains to be seen. Trump is not known to be a fan of the Obama administration, and being anti-establishment and almost entirely anti-Obama policy, Nigeria might be presented with an opportunity of renegotiating our bilateral relationship, especially as regards the war against Boko Haram and other militants. However, if the Trump’s campaign speeches are anything to go by, his emergence could be just the worst possible outcome for Nigeria. For one, he seems uninterested in any issue outside the US or one that is not directly connected to the US. For that, the logistics, intelligence and financial help being provided by the Obama administration in fighting Boko Haram might be as good as gone.
In the wake of Trump’s victory, analysts have come out with a prediction of the fate of Africa as a continent and Nigeria as a country. In the words of a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor Akinyemi, the victory of Donald Trump brings “uncertainty to international politics” due to “his lack of experience and apparent disrespect for anyone non-White or non-American.”
In the words of former Nigerian Ambassador to the United Nations, Ambassador Oladapo Fafowora, “There is nothing in his background to suggest he has any durable interest in Africa. I think it is a lesson for Nigerians; people should stay here and make contributions in developing our country.”
All in all, Trump having shown himself to be very inconsistent, the true effect of the Trump administration remain mere predictions until he comes into power in January 2017.
