The recent rhetoric from the Trump campaign about Haitian migrants adds to the long list of xenophobic comments made about groups of immigrants to our country. Many of the Haitian immigrants are here legally under the Temporary Protected Status program. This xenophobia applies to both immigrants of color and white immigrants.

Consider the Irish migration to America. The discrimination faced by the Irish was not subtle. It was right there in plain sight for all to see. Many job postings stated “No Irish Need Apply.” Irish migration helped spawn the creation of a nativist political movement in the United States in the 1850s called the Know Nothing Party. The Know Nothings claimed that Protestantism defined the values of American society and that Catholicism was incompatible with this value system, according to Jay P. Dolan in “The Irish Americans: A History.” Sound familiar? Can you say MAGA?

Another example is the migration from Eastern Europe and Russia from 1880 to 1920. My grandparents arrived during this influx. Unlike previous immigrants, who were mostly Protestant, many of the new arrivals were Catholic, Jewish or Orthodox Christians. The difference in their religious beliefs became a source of prejudice against them.

One can add to the above the examples Asian (Chinese Exclusion Act), Mexican and Italian migrations.

Yet, all these above groups have been successfully absorbed and become productive members of the “melting pot” that is America. Over time, I believe members Trump’s MAGA will be proven wrong. Then, perhaps, it will be time for them to eat crow.

Samuel Rosenthal
Portland