How will Trump's war on immigration affect U.S. foreign policy & global power?

President Trump has now shown his hand: Legal immigration, not just illegal/undocumented immigration, is one of the main enemies that has weakened America and ended our greatness (along with their Communist, liberal collaborators, but I digress). Expelling as many immigrants as possible, from farm workers to students to high-tech H1-B visa holders, will be the policy of the land for more than three more years. Even if Trump leaves the scene somehow, Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem, and the MAGA base guarantee this will continue.

Now, we are not the first country to react against a wave of immigration, and the harms immigrants allegedly commit (whether real or imagined) and to try to slam the door shut. It's not even our first xenophobic cycle, Nor is it just the United States. The EU, for example, has basically slammed the door on illegal migrants by getting other countries to do the dirty work.

If, as many believe, the 21st century will be another century dominated by mass migration - due to climate, war, population growth, etc. - then the world has a lot of misery and sorting it out to do no matter who is in charge of what.

(We may, however, be the first ever democratic country to just allow its chief of state to ignore all laws and the Constitution to accomplish such an end. Trump's illegality is yet another different topic, I guess.)

For us, I think a good November mtg focus would be to explore the consequences of all of these anti-immigration policies. Domestically maybe: Economy, culture, politics. But definitely in this group on our foreign policy and national power and influence. Check back here the week before the 11/9 meeting for some optional background readings, updates, and analyses.

Background readings:

-- This is actually a good topic for AI-written summaries. They do a good job of merely listing facets of a problem. The two below list and discuss all the main ways Trump's immigration policies effect the U.S. domestically and in our foreign policy. They are a bit dry and long but sum up the issues at stake pretty well. Feel free to skim or focus on the issues that most interest you.
-- Examining foreign affairs and immigration under President Trump - Harvard Law School. April 2025.
-- Shorter: Immigration Policy: A Foreign Policy Perspective. May 2025. Recommended.
-- A harshly critical POV, 23m video.
-- A much more pro-Trump POV.

Notice these are both a little early in our nine-month ordeal, so they need updating, which I will try to do in a brief opening on Sunday.