Chain Migration Is Just Immigration
The far right popularized the term “chain migration” to stigmatize immigrant families. It’s how I got here.
Listening to Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton talk of “addressing chain migration” on Meet the Press recently, I puzzled over why Chuck Todd didn’t challenge Cotton to explain why this specific path to immigrating to the United States is even a problem to be addressed.
Cotton claimed that by giving amnesty to immigrants within the DACA program, “you’re going to create an entire new population, through chain migration, that can bring in more people into this country that’s not based on their skills and education and so forth.” Putting aside the fact that Cotton’s criticism of the dynamic reeks of discrimination, we also know that family immigrants are generally better educated than U.S.-born natives. Additionally, however, “chain migration” has long been limited, and chain migration via DACA recipients would face the same limitations.
Why though does it seem we’re suddenly seeing a shock-and-awe campaign aimed at convincing Americans we need to reduce “chain migration” — whether it applies to DACA immigrants or typical immigrants?
For decades, the term “chain migration” existed rather innocently as a term within the field of…
