Trump’s Border Fixation and What It Means for Immigrants

“It’s been a rough few months for me,” says DACA recipient Brenda. “This is an ongoing stress that I have no control over.”

Jake Neher/WDET

Immigration continues to be a hotly debated subject in the United States — DACA, the proposed border wall, and now a group of migrants from Central and South America is headed north toward the U.S. border. 

After all the discussion about these issues, are we closer, or further away from better immigration policy in this country? 

Andrew Selee, president of the Migration Policy Institute, joins Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson to speak about the decision to send National Guard troops to the border wall

Selee points out that sending part of the military to the U.S.-Mexico border has been done by past presidents, including Obama and Bush. 

“They do it because it sounds tough,” he says. “It sounds like they’re getting tough on the border, but it ends up being much more expensive and less effective than…other things they could be doing.” 

Immigration attorney Michael Carlin also joins the program to talk about the status of DACA and how his clients are reacting to the recent string of headlines.

Brenda, a DACA recipient and current student at the University of Michigan, describes what it’s been like to attend school while a decision about DACA looms. 

“It’s been a rough few months for me,” she says. “This is an ongoing stress that I have no control over.” 

Brenda requested that we only use her first name due to the sensitivity of her immigration status.

Click on the audio player above for the full conversation. 

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