Figure1. A cartoon named Immigrants by PAVEL CONSTANTIN, posted by http://www.politicalcartoons.com/cartoon/ab320627-bada-4f2f-ae3a-659e4921118f.html
On November 21, 2014, President Obama established his “immigration accountability executive action”, mainly including “temporary protection of unauthorized parents of U.S. citizens” and “the highly technical regulatory proposals to fix outdated visa provisions” (American Immigration Council,2014).
However, the series of new policies do not seem to be palatable to public, or at least, for cartoonist Pavel Constantin. His comic portrays that US just put on a poster with “human right” on it on the border, instead of opening a tangible door to those potential immigrants. Outside the border of USA, media are taking photos of a “immigrant” with Statute of Liberty, which represent both America and liberty.
The comic use the techniques of irony and satire to reveal the fraudulence of the new immigration policy of US. “Human right” and Statute of Liberty are always labels and symbols of US, which in fact, is only a superficial slogan and a way to propaganda rather than the goal to achieve for the whole country. Because it fails to live up to their promise of human right of immigrants.
Moreover, in a more realistic way to think about Obama’s immigration policy, it is understandable that the government reinforced some criterions of immigration. Just as Thomas Jefferson(1791) said, “a democracy is where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.” In this case the government and citizens who support to restrict immigrants rigorously are the fifty-one. It is unfair to say they take away the rights of immigrants, but according to finite resource in this country, there must be one side to make concession to another. Nevertheless, it is the duty of government to balance the interest of both sides and prevent the concession turning into conflict.
Furthermore, the brunt of argument is not only directed at the Obama’s immigration policy, but also at those media which help to gloss over the truth to bewilder public, undoubtedly against their professional ethics. We all know that the responsibility of media is to reveal the truth, instead of becoming a tool of propaganda controlled by government. And one of the bad results is that citizens inside the wall of borders have no idea of the drawback of Obama’s immigration policy, and then few criticism will lead to few progress.
Reference:
American Immigration Council. (2014). A Guide to the Immigration Accountability Executive Action. Retrieved from http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/special-reports/guide-immigration-accountability-executive-action
Jefferson, T., Azar, K., McDowall, & Boyd, J. P. (1974). Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 19: January 1791 to March 1791. Princeton University Press.
ZENG Zilu (Luna)
SID:54017720