O’Brien 1

Brigid O’Brien

Advanced Composition

Dr. Dworsky

March 25, 2018

The Validity of President Trump’s Claim on the Current Immigration System and Chain

Migration

Introduction

In the first year of his term as president and during his campaign, President Trump’s

thoughts on immigration have continuously been heard throughout the nation and globe. From

the alleged wall to chain migration, Trump has made his opinion on immigrants travelling into

the United States clear. ​During his first State of the Union Address, President Trump discussed

chain migration, claiming that, "under the current broken system, a single immigrant can bring in

virtually unlimited numbers of distant relatives.” Essentially, this assertion states that the United

States’ Government’s current system of immigration is crippled, which allows for the previously

mentioned chain migration. The term chain migration describes the phenomenon in which one

immigrant travelling from their homeland to another area influences their family members to

migrate to that area as well (Lind). Chain migration is commonly known as “family migration”

or “family reunification” because groups of people often move to places where their families

relocate (Lind). President Trump has often asserted his belief that chain migration occurs when

individuals from countries such as Mexico migrate into the United States (U.S.) It is unclear

where President Trump has acquired the information needed to state such beliefs to the public.

Nevertheless, the current President of the United States has said that “unlimited numbers of
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immigrants” can travel into the U.S. under the current immigration system. This claim is false

because President Trump’s definition for the term chain migration is incorrect; immigration laws

do not allow for easy chain migration into the U.S., and President Trump’s words are not

accurate.

Body Paragraphs (Critical Evaluation and Analysis of the Claim)

President Donald Trump’s claims have won him infamy among his critics and popularity

among his supporters. President Trump has overstated everything from his administration’s

military success to the amount of money Germany owes The North Atlantic Treaty Organization

(NATO). The number of inaccurate claims President Trump has made to the public through

speech and tweet constitutes an untrustworthy speaker. Similarly, if a media outlet or news

source provides the public with a variety of information ranging from legitimate to illegitimate,

the public is likely to find this source unreliable. It is difficult to decipher whether or not Donald

Trump is reliable based off of the numerous fallacies that he has said to the public. On August

9th of 2017, President Trump tweeted that, ​"​My first order as president was to renovate and

modernize our nuclear arsenal. It is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before." Louis

Jacobson of Politifact rates this statement as false, explaining that, “the ongoing nuclear

modernization plan -- which dates back to the Obama administration and will take decades to

complete -- would not have notched achievements in six months sufficient to be characterized as

‘far stronger and more powerful than ever before.’ In March of 2017, President Trump tweeted:

"Germany owes ... vast sums of money to NATO and the United States must be paid more for

the powerful, and very expensive, defense it provides to Germany!" Alison Graves of Politifact

also categorizes this statement as false, explaining that “NATO members agreed to spend 2
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percent of their country’s GDP on defense by 2024. But that’s not in payments to NATO. Each

country funds its own defense, while NATO serves as an umbrella organization meant to protect

all members.” Politifact defines themselves as ​“a fact-checking website that rates the accuracy of

claims by elected officials and others on its Truth-O-Meter​.​” The website aims to provide a

source of information for citizens that wish to “govern themselves in a democracy.” Based off of

this analysis, Politifact appears to be unbiased in their writing, making them a reliable source. As

seen by this and the examples given, President Trump is not dependable in terms of relaying

information. Therefore, his claim regarding chain migration and immigration should be taken

with a grain of salt.

With the reliability of Trump’s words in mind, the declaration that an ‘unlimited’ number

of ‘distant relatives’ have the ability to migrate into the United States is false. The terms that are

used in this claim including “unlimited” and “distant,” are incorrectly used in President Trump’s

State of the Union speech. President Trump’s wording is vague in regard to what he means when

he says an unlimited number of ‘distant’ relatives. The American Immigration Council (AIC)

analyzes immigration laws and policies within the U.S, and defines themselves as “nonprofit… a

powerful voice in promoting laws, policies, and attitudes that honor our proud history as a nation

of immigrants. Through research and policy analysis, litigation and communications, and

international exchange, the Council seeks to shape a twenty-first century vision of the American

immigrant experience.” This source seems to be somewhat in favor of allowing immigration in

the United States. However, it is also non-profit and likely does not possess any special interests

in providing the public with this information. President Trump’s claim on chain migration

directly relates to what is known as “family based immigration laws.” According to the
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American Immigration Council, family based immigration laws only allow​ “immediate relatives

of U.S. citizens or through the family preference system” to migrate into the U.S. Hence Donald

Trump’s statement that an endless amount of distant relatives can come into the United States is

incorrect; only immediate relatives of a citizen are allowed to migrate into the United States.

Additionally, ​the immigration policies and laws for immediate family members who would like

to migrate into the U.S. are complicated. To be considered a “prospective immigrant,” you first

must be “under the immediate relatives category” (1). Additionally, the Immigration Council

states that, “[prospective immigrants] must meet standard eligibility criteria, and petitioners must

meet certain age and financial requirements” (1). The AIC further explains that immediate family

members must be categorized as “spouses of U.S. citizens; unmarried minor children of U.S.

citizens (under 21-years-old); and parents of U.S. citizens (petitioner must be at least

21-years-old to petition for a parent)” (1). Based off of these strict policies, it would be

extremely difficult for “distant” family members to migrate into the U.S through chain

migration, considering only immediate family members are allowed to immigrate through chain

migration. Moreover, the alleged “broken” immigration system that President Trump believes is

allowing for distant relatives to travel into the U.S. is, in fact, preventing infinite numbers of

distant relatives from entering the U.S.

Supposing President Trump was not exclusively discussing distant familial immigration

and rather immediate familial immigration, “chain migration” would still not be ‘unlimited’ in

the U.S. Such policies do not allow for a large number of people to be granted permission to

immigrate. According to AIC, it is very difficult for an immediate family member of an

immigrant to acquire a Visa.

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“A limited number of Visas are available every year under the family preference

system… prospective immigrants must meet standard eligibility criteria, and petitioners

must meet certain age and financial requirements. The preference system includes: adult

children (married and unmarried) and brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens (petitioner

must be at least 21-years-old to petition for a sibling), and spouses and unmarried

children (minor and adult) of LPRs” (AIC).

In regard to these immigration laws, it is clear that an unlimited number of immigrants are not

entering the U.S. through chain migration. According to AIC, a trustworthy although somewhat

biased source, family immigration laws are strict and the waiting list to acquire a visa to enter the

U.S. is can be up to fourteen (14) years. Likewise, these familial based laws are only applicable

to immediate family members of immigrants living in the United States, and have nothing to do

with “distant” relatives. Therefore, this portion of President Donald Trump’s claim is false.

The term “chain migration,” has often been used by President Trump, from his State of

the Union Address to various tweets and public statements, to describe the United States

immigration process. It (chain migration) has become increasingly popular since the President’s

campaign and election. The President has frequently used an incorrect definition for this term. As

previously mentioned, chain migration has generally been known by historians as the process of

a person or peoples moving from their homeland to another area where their family lives, also

known as family reunification. John Burnett, the National Public Radio’s (NPR) Southwest

correspondent covers immigration, border affairs and investigative reporting. He describes the

definition of chain migration on the NPR episode “Explaining Chain Migration” as “the visa

program through which immigrants already residing here [the United States] can bring their
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family members over.” The Economist defines chain migration as​ “​ the process by which

American citizens and green-card holders (permanent residents) bring family members to the

United States to live” in their article “Why is Chain Migration so Controversial?” Both of these

sources provide similar definitions of the term “chain migration,” in that they do not mention the

number of immigrants that enter the U.S. Additionally, both sources are neutral. President

Trump’s definition of the term as seen in the Washington Post video, “What Republicans mean

when they say ‘chain migration,’ is “bringing in many, many people with one [immigrant].”

President Trump’s definition of this term is incorrect because it does mention the number of

immigrants entering the U.S. in saying “many, many.” It would be incredibly difficult for “many,

many” or “an unlimited number” of immigrants to enter the United States from the southern

border. Petitioning for one family member to enter the U.S. takes multiple years, provided there

are only a certain number of alloted visas given to prospective immigrants. Therefore, one

immigrant petitioning for a “chain” of family members to enter the states would take many years

-- which makes President Trump’s definition of chain migration under the U.S. immigration

system false.

Conclusion and Final Reflection

​President Trump’s claim "under the current broken system, a single immigrant can bring

in virtually unlimited numbers of distant relatives” is incorrect. Given President Donald Trump’s

history of reliability, his claim on chain migration should be taken lightly. The amount of true

versus untrue statements that he has told the public has created untrustworthiness to his character

as a speaker. The unclear phrasing and wording of the quote does not provide for reliable or

factual information, and actual immigration laws do not allow U.S citizens to petition for their
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“distant” family members to enter the U.S., according to AIC. Even if an individual wanted to

petition for an immediate family member (rather than a distant family member) to enter the

United States, it would take an extensive amount of time for them to acquire a visa. The incorrect

definition of chain migration in this claim also adds to the fallacy of Donald Trump’s claim.

Accurate definitions of chain migration from NPR and the Economist do not say that an

“unlimited” number of immigrants can enter the U.S., whereas Donald Trump’s definition does.

Also, individuals migrating from the Southern border into the U.S. cannot enter the country as a

“progression” of people. Due to the current immigration system, those wanting to enter the

United States to live with a family member have to wait multiple years to obtain a visa, which

demonstrates how incorrect Donald Trump’s definition of chain migration is. Where Donald

Trump has gathered the information to make a claim such as this is uncertain. However, it is

clear that the reason he is making such claims is because he is strongly against immigration in

the U.S. Throughout the research process, Donald Trump’s bias against immigration became

even more apparent than it already was because of the absurd inaccuracy of his claim. Overall,

the claim that is being made about immigration and chain migration by President Donald Trump

is false for a myriad of reasons.

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Works Cited
Lind, Dara. “What ‘Chain Migration’ Really Means - and Why Donald Trump Hates It so
Much.” ​Vox​, Vox, 29 Dec. 2017,
www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/12/29/16504272/chain-migration-family-how-tru
mp-end.
“How the United States Immigration System Works.” ​American Immigration Council​, 13 Mar.
2018,
www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/how-united-states-immigration-system-w
orks​.
“All False Statements Involving Donald Trump.” ​All False Statements Involving Donald
Trump | PolitiFact​,
www.politifact.com/personalities/donald-trump/statements/byruling/false/​.
Explaining 'Chain Migration'. ​NPR, Washington, D.C., 2018​, ProQuest​,
https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.sanjuancollege.edu/docview/1985346408?accountid
=39502​.
"Why is Chain Migration so Controversial?"​ The Economist (Online)​, Jan 17, 2018​, ProQuest​,
https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.sanjuancollege.edu/docview/1988229938?accountid
=39502​.
"What Republicans Mean when they Say ‘Chain Migration’."​ProQuest​, Jan 26, 2018,
https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.sanjuancollege.edu/docview/1991622875?accountid
=39502​.