by Jonathan Moniz, Staff Writer
Donald J. Trump, the Republican candidate for president in this 2016 election, was nominated at this year’s Republican National Convention, which occurred from July 18 to 21.
As the Republican nominee, Donald Trump has promised to uphold traditional Republican values on illegal immigration and taxation, and promote Republican values.
During the speech, Donald Trump highlighted many of his key policy issues and many of the key changes he wished to see in America, what he would institute as President of the United States. Touching upon everything from manufacturing to jobs, the economy and rising crime rates, Trump discussed many of the problems America faced.
His foremost solution was to restore law and order to America through the use of extension co-operation with law enforcement and attorneys. He also emphasized the significance of establishing Supreme Justices who would preserve America’s law and constitution.
Seguing into the economy, Trump discussed the poverty around the nation. He also discussed the economic poverty among minorities such as Hispanics and African Americans, indicating that there had been a general decline in their welfare since the 2000s. He talked about the lacking availability of jobs, and how he was going to solve this problem.
One of the most responsible factors of the lacking availability of jobs, Trump pointed out, was the high influx of illegal immigrants that come into the country. He directly said in his speech, “The amount of immigrants that had come into the country so far (by the date of the RNC) was double that of the entire year of 2015.”
As he said this, Trump paused, and the crowd then started chanting, “Build that wall! Build that wall!” Trump’s most recurring promise to the Republican electorate has been to erect a concrete wall along the border of Mexico and the U.S., running partly along the river of the Rio Grande.
The wall has been one of Trump’s most popular promises, with many taking comfort in the idea. Many U.S. Republicans, especially those living in the South and by the border of Mexico, have taken issue with the numbers of immigrants crossing. They fear the large number of people coming into the office taking jobs and opportunities that would otherwise go to legal citizens, and legal immigrants entitled to be there.
With the increase of terrorist attacks, the prospects of immigrants have added to fears many already hold about welcoming foreigners into the nation. Trump has accused his rival, Hillary Clinton, of proposing to set up programs that would allow any sort of person to enter the country, without any regards to their background or where they came from. With the rise of ISIS, he insists that this is something they can’t afford.
Opinions about the Trump’s policy and illegal immigration range far and wide. Devon Bodde, a Psychology major here at UMass Dartmouth, spoke in regards to the prospects of immigrants and jobs opportunities, saying he doesn’t think that, “Immigrants take too many jobs.”
Biology major Brandon Seal agreed largely about illegal immigrants taking many opportunities that would otherwise be afforded to legal citizens, referring to his own experiences back in the state of California.
However, Seal said Trump’s policy is, “Good as in protecting, but bad as it can create a lot of enemies.”
When confronted with the question of building a wall between Mexico and the U.S., both students responded with skepticism about the cost of the project, with Devon saying, “Building a wall is not possible.”