Written by: Dhiya Farras Suryakusuma Staff of Research of Development

For people who are part of the so-called first world countries, this world is only divided into two: the West and the rest. Those who dare come from “the rest” to the West are often treated poorly – seen as foreign entities, a bunch of aliens, rather than as equal human beings like them. This issue has been going around for centuries and has drawn international society’s attention for decades. Yet, unfortunately, the immigrant issue is still one of the most urgent problems for international society in the contemporary world, especially in countries where racial discrimination is systemically rooted, such as the United States.

Image 1. People of color’s waiting room at the bus station in North Carolina, 1940
Source: Jack Delano, The Conversation

Immigrants in the United States
Immigrants – a terminology for those who moved away from their country of origin to become citizens of other countries – are a group of people prone to marginalization in the country they choose to move to. The lack of acknowledgement as citizens from the “natives” of the country they choose to live in, even after a change in citizenship, is a major factor as to why immigrants easily become marginalized. This lack of acceptance tends to be based on prejudice, which leads to hatred towards immigrants, making racism and discrimination their constant companions.

The hatred towards immigrants did not emerge out of the blue; it is the result of long-lasting structural prejudices in society. It exists because immigrants are often viewed as a group that carries threats to the country that they live in, be it in economic, culture, and security (Esses, 2021, p. 506). In the United States, these said prejudices date up to the 19th century, where “Jim Crow” racial segregation laws between white and black people were implemented. The black community suffered acts of violence from the white people, faced coercion to sign unfair labor contracts, and lacked the right to access the same public places as white people in order to maintain “racial purity” (Corbould, 2025). American society assumed that immigrants, as peoples of color, especially those hailing from third-world countries, would only ruin their blood’s purity. This segregation later shaped the view that immigrants were inferior to white people. Moreover, the fear of being replaced in the job market by an “inferior” group of people – especially since the rate of immigrants in the labor force grew has grown faster than that of white Americans, specifically in the past three decades – also contributes to systemic racism and discrimination towards many immigrants in the United States (Anderson, 2025).

Although conditions have significantly improved, with more people realizing the depth of injustice immigrants experience, thus starting to show concern towards the issue through social campaigns like the Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate movement, it is likely that racism and discrimination would still remain due to deep-rooted prejudices. Moreover, discriminatory perspectives are weaponized by politicians in order to secure electoral votes (Dasgupta, 2025). Politicians tend to use immigrants as part of political campaigns, but not in the sense of protecting immigrants and their rights, but instead using them as scapegoats for every single problem the country faces. Immigrants are scapegoated for high crime rates, social crises, economic deficits, increasing unemployment rates, and so forth. This method was utilized by the Republican party in 2022 to target some members of the Democratic House, all of them being POCs (peoples of color), stating they were “dangerous” (Weisman, 2022). Ironically, governments of first-world countries, including the United States, blame the mere existence of immigrants, without doing much to cater to their needs through social welfare policies or programs.

Furthermore, these discriminatory views are perpetuated with the usage of the terminology “immigrants” itself. The term usually refers to those from third-world countries, who are viewed as inferior. Meanwhile, people who come from first-world countries to become citizens in the United States are typically referred to as “expats”, signalling a sentiment of superiority (Koutonin, 2015). This, once again, shows that immigrants are viewed as less than the “typical, pure-blooded” American.

Immigrants during Trump’s Era
With Donald Trump – who is infamous for his anti-immigrant propaganda – as the incumbent president, it is not a surprise that immigrants living in the United States may face numerous difficulties. Since the 2016 presidential election, Trump labeled Mexicans as people responsible for bringing crimes to the United States (Oladipo, 2024). With the “Making America Great Again” (MAGA) propaganda as justification, Trump perpetuates the idea that the United States has to reform itself from inside, stating that immigrants, people with disabilities, and people who stand for the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies go against his ambition and should therefore be rightfully excluded (Green, 2025).

Trump continues using this method of scapegoating immigrants until now. Furthermore, Trump not only spreads vile stereotypes about immigrants, but also limits their rights, especially the right of self-expression, also known as the freedom of speech. In the past few months, Trump has unhesitatingly been revoking immigrants’ American citizenship and deporting them. This happens to immigrants, especially for those who are vocal about certain issues and whose political stances differ from Trump’s – such as activists. Activists involved in protest movements such as the labor movement or the Gaza solidarity movement, tend to be arrested by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In worse cases, their visas could be revoked, and they could be deported back to their home countries. One of the latest cases of this happened to Mahmoud Khalil, a Syrian-born American citizen, who was threatened to be deported because of his participation in the Palestinian solidarity movement (Corcoran, 2025).

“Independent” institutions, such as universities, are also not immune from Trump’s anti-immigrant sentiments. Harvard University became a target, with Trump threatening to cut more funding and restricting admission for international students. The main reason behind this is the Palestinian solidarity movement in the world-class campus. Trump said these movements promoted anti-Semitism and that Harvard could not protect Jewish students. Moreover, the Trump administration also demanded Harvard to close its DEI program as it was accused of being anti-Semitic (Al Jazeera, 2025). This action clearly goes against the First Amendment, which emphasizes democracy and freedom of speech.

Zohran Mamdani as a New York Mayor Candidate
However, this “long-lasting” racism and discrimination towards immigrants did not prevent Zohran Mamdani from becoming a New York mayor candidate. Mamdani’s boldness as an immigrant did not receive positive responses from Trump or right-wing Republicans, as they tend to be anti-immigrant. They keep blasting propaganda about Mamdani; saying that he is a radical communist who could disintegrate New York (Tait, 2025). Trump has also threatened to strip Mamdani’s American citizenship. All of these are done just to hinder Mamdani, as an immigrant, from leading New York, which is one of the United States’ vital cities. The prejudice towards immigrants that lingers in American society shapes how white people view Mamdani, not to mention the deep-lodged white supremacism that causes white people to view immigrants as an inferior group.

This fear-mongering propaganda is done because Mamdani himself stated that he was a socialist, and socialism as an ideology that is viewed as a threat to the United States, especially after the Cold War. In addition, his background as an immigrant and a muslim – in which the latter has a negative stereotype post-9/11 – plays a significant role on how New Yorkers view him. Moreover, Mamdani is a Democrat while Trump himself is a Republican, meaning that Mamdani is Trump’s opposition, which makes Trump pressure Mamdani even more. 

Nevertheless, although immigrants are still being marginalized in the Western society, Mamdani is a breath of fresh air for immigrants in Trump’s era. In fact, Mamdani unexpectedly won the majority of votes in New York, winning over Cuomo, the former New York governor, with a rate of 56% to 44%, despite Trump’s constant propaganda and threats (Pazmino & Cohen, 2025). Though this phenomenon has not proved concretely that American society has become more progressive and accepting towards immigrants, it could encourage more immigrants to start taking chances on strategic positions in the government.

Conclusion
Despite Mamdani’s case, there is still a long way to go for the United States, and other Western countries, to become free from any kind of racism and discrimination towards the immigrants. The issue is not difficult to solve because it is overlooked; it is difficult to solve because it is structurally maintained by institutions, social practices, prejudices, and white supremacist views, mostly maintained by the government itself. If these still continue to happen, even in the future, immigrants may forever be viewed as an “addition” and not as unique, equal human beings.

References
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Al Jazeera. (2025, May 14). Trump administration cuts another $450m in Harvard grants in escalating row. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/5/14/trump-administration-cuts-another-450m-in-harvard-grants-in-escalating-row.

Anderson, S. (2025, July 6). Jobs Report Casts Warning On Immigration And Labor Force Declines. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2025/07/06/jobs-report-casts-warning-on-immigration-and-labor-force-declines/.

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Pazmino, G., & Cohen, E. (2025, July 1). Mamdani clinches NYC Democratic primary while Trump threatens arrest if he resists ICE as mayor. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/01/politics/mamdani-new-york-ranked-choice-voting.

Tait, R. (2025, July 1). Trump administration raises possibility of stripping Mamdani of US citizenship. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/01/trump-zohran-mamdani-citizenship.

Terkel, A., & Lebowitz, M. (2024, September 19). From ‘rapists’ to ‘eating the pets’: Trump has long used degrading language toward immigrants. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-degrading-language-immigrants-rcna171120.

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