US certainly no dreamland, at least not for most migrants

Latest data from the US Customs and Border Protection show that United States officials arrested a record 1.7 million illegal immigrants, including over 140,000 children, on its southern border in 2021.

Besides, according to the International Organization for Migration, around 6,430 illegal migrants died or went missing on their way to the US. CNN quoted US border patrols as saying that 557 of them died on the US-Mexico border in 2021, while over 5,000 migrant children, unaccompanied by any adult, have been detained, many of them for longer than is legal.

The Guardian reports that from 2016 to 2021, there have been more than 160 known cases of border law enforcers in southern US abusing, even sexually abusing, asylum seekers.

All these examples of how the human rights of migrants are trampled upon in the US lay hollow its claim of being a "beacon of human rights". True, as the only superpower and most developed country in the world, the US remains an attractive destination for migrants. But, it should be stressed that the US never cares about the rights of migrants. Despite claiming that "all men are created equal", the US never treats people from other nations as equals. Its customs and border protection forces are ever ready to aim a gun at the heads of migrants, if not rape and torture them.

Those entering the US border can never dream of entering US society though, for all formal, decent jobs are reserved for white people; people of color are left to do the hardest labor for the lowest pay. Whenever a crime is committed, African Americans are almost always the prime suspects. Those washing plates in restaurants are invariably Asians, while it is often Latinos who work at construction sites.

All this is rooted in the notion that the US is a nation founded by Anglo-Saxons for Anglo-Saxons, where all other people are considered servants. Even today white supremacy remains a big issue in the US.

To quote Los Angeles Times, the US border has become a giant graveyard. US politicians should ensure that the pull the US commands over migrants doesn't itself get buried in that graveyard.