On a recent visit to El Paso, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions stated that “[El Paso] is ground zero - this is the front lines, and this is where we are making our stand.” Many critics have claimed these declarations as unfair, offensive, and simply not true, and I agree. El Paso has been declared one of the safest cities in America, and the city has made it to the “Congressional Quarterly's list” claiming the city one of safest “in America for four straight years from 2010 to 2014.”
Then why would Sessions claim that El Paso is “ground zero?” One simple explanation can be that more people are beginning to view Mexicans as criminals after Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, and according to Borderplex Alliance’s website, El Paso contains more than 80% Hispanics. In an infamous speech made by Donald Trump, he claimed that Mexican Immigrants are “rapist” and “criminals.” This is thought by many to have caused government officials to uselessly scrutinize Mexican-majority cities such as El Paso, but this is extremely unfair to those regions.
The misleading claims by Jeff Sessions and Donald Trump fill people with fear about these cities and the Mexican community in general. Nothing good can come from these frightful sentiments about Hispanics. First, cities such as El Paso will likely experience less tourism and population growth from outer cities and states which can negatively affect their economy. In addition, people might be inclined to treat people of Mexican descent in a discriminatory manner; this can cause unnecessary conflict between Mexicans who feel the need to a backlash against racism and those who are biased against them. Instead of blindly criticizing Mexicans, Government officials such as Trump and Sessions should spend more time reaching out to these citizens, such as answering their question concerns, in order to understand their culture a little better; this causes a better relationship between the two groups which builds trust and reduces unjust prejudices.
