As we head towards the beginning of a new presidency, pressing issues of our nation take hold. Immigration poses one of the biggest threats to our generation, and in recent polls has been ranked an escalating complication, amongst many, of our society. Within a number of days, President-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated into office, alongside many of his ultra conservative reforms while we say goodbye to President Barack Obama and some of the treasured values our nation was built upon.

Trump has long promised to construct a “big beautiful wall” along the southern U.S. border with Mexico to ensure security from, as he sees it, the rising number of immigrants wreaking havoc upon our nation. Promising to triple Immigrations and Customs Enforcement personnel, remove an estimated 690,000 undocumented residents with criminal backgrounds and expel millions of immigrants overstaying their visas, Trump is slowly chipping away the American value of acceptance. An analysis by the Washington Post tallies the number of potential Trump-issued deportations to be around 5 to 6.5 million of the 11 million undocumented immigrants residing in the U.S. These policies, alongside the construction of the proposed border wall, is estimated to cost between $50 to $70 billion. Not only would this structure strangle revenue flows and stunt economic growth, but Trump’s reforms would create massive expenses for U.S. taxpayers, capsizing the American ideals of liberty, equality and opportunity.  

Trump, akin to the regulatory reforms of conservative politicians, wishes to cut off Justice Department grants to sanctuary cities, or as labeled by immigrants, their “shields from deportation.” Sanctuary cities in the U.S. are places in which local law enforcement policies restrict the persecution of undocumented immigrants to federal authorities. Immigration was a central pillar in Trump’s campaign, for he gave off the notion American crime and violence arose through the residency of immigrants. Despite statistics showing the drastically decreasing probability of immigrant-based crime in the U.S., Trump’s hardline position on immigration deportation deeply resonates with conservative voters.

Even as the number of civilians fleeing their war-torn countries accumulates, American borders will shut down. Appalling hundreds around the globe, our government is forcing promoters of acceptance turn away from the desperate migrants who once had faith in the secure, hopeful nation of America. It is our moral obligation as citizens with a power to make a difference, to offer shelter to those in need, and it is our duty as human beings to have compassion for those whose world’s have perished in their fight for survive.