In many parts of the world, Karens who practice racism pose a real danger to people of color. As such, the federal government has taken action by passing various laws specifically targeting their discriminatory behavior.
Other laws prohibit making racist 911 calls and discriminating based on cultural characteristics or names.
Burma’s Anti-Racist Law
Burma (formerly known as Myanmar) has seen an uptick in democracy and human rights protections recently, yet decades of discrimination based on race, class and ethnicity persists. If the government wishes to fulfill its international human rights obligations and build more inclusive democratic structures, it must address structural discrimination.
Myanmar’s political system has strongly reinforced ethnic identity and created divisions within society, including by determining citizenship based on family lineage and group membership. Such practices may lead to discrimination against certain groups and create a hierarchy of power between them – leading to inter-group conflict.
For instance, the 1982 Citizenship Law divides people into three classes based on ethnicity and family lineage. The majority Bamar ethnic group and 135 other minority groups are recognized as full citizens while others fall under associate citizenship or naturalization status. Unfortunately, these classifications have often been used as a source of discrimination against ethnic minorities such as Rohingya.
However, the law also permits the government to deny citizenship to individuals convicted of crimes such as child abuse, fraud or theft. Human rights activists contend that these charges are often used to silence critics of the law such as women’s groups.
The government has the opportunity to alter these laws, but should do so with transparency and openness. Furthermore, it should take steps to decentralize the political process and give local leaders more control over their areas.
In particular, the government should reframe how it talks and understands ethnicity to avoid it becoming a sole basis for citizenship or other rights and legal protections. This requires extensive national reflection and debate but offers an opportunity for the state to begin changing how its peoples view themselves and their relationship with one another.
The government must take proactive measures to prevent the adoption of laws that breach its international human rights obligations and implement reforms recommended by an independent commission. Furthermore, it should reframe how it defines “fundamental rights,” such as freedom of thought, conscience and religion, so these protections are truly universal rather than exclusive to certain groups.
The U.S. Immigration Act of 1990
The Immigration Act of 1990 placed a heavy emphasis on restricting immigration into the United States. During the Cold War, it was essential to safeguard America’s national security from communist invasion and unauthorized entry. The law reaffirmed the country-of-origin quota system while placing certain countries, such as Central and Eastern Europe, under certain restrictions.
The law also expanded the legal and health grounds that could be used to exclude or deport immigrants. These included criminal offenses like multiple convictions for aggravated felonies or trafficking in controlled substances; as well as drug violations. It made it easier to deny or exclude those convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude (including purely political crimes).
Another significant element of the Immigration Act of 1990 was its creation of new visas that targeted specific groups. These included athletes, artists, religious workers and those with extraordinary abilities. Furthermore, it set limits on how many visas could be issued per year and instituted a preference system to guide how those visas were distributed.
Furthermore, the Act established new per country limits for family and employment-based immigration. These amounts are determined by combining the number of family-related immigrants in each country with available employment-based visas.
At present, there is a cap of 700,000 visas for family immigration purposes – this includes immediate relatives of U.S. citizens as well as spouses of green card holders.
Under the new law, there is a four-tiered preference system that allocates priority to spouses of green card holders in each category: first, second and third preferences to spouses; fourth preference goes to unmarried children of green card holders as well as married children of those same parents.
The Act also established a diversity immigrant program, granting visas to certain individuals from disadvantaged nations. These visas are meant to emphasize skill-based immigration and source country diversity.
The Immigration Act of 1990 was passed by Congress and signed into law by President George H.W. Bush in November 1990, marking a landmark moment in immigration laws’ development. This landmark law was enacted amid Cold War tensions and Soviet invasion threats in Western Europe at that time.
The U.S. Immigration Act of 2007
The Immigration Act of 2007 (S. 1348) was an immigration bill that sought to grant legal status and citizenship rights to undocumented immigrants, while also striking a balance between increased border enforcement and restructuring visa criteria in favor of highly skilled workers. Unfortunately, the bill met with widespread opposition and eventually died in the 113th Congress.
The United States Government has a history of racial discrimination and often ignores its consequences. Indeed, several federal agencies have been accused of employing racist and anti-immigrant policies in their decision making processes.
For instance, the INS has been accused of using race as a factor when deporting aliens. Furthermore, many immigrants are believed to face unfair employment discrimination due to their immigration status.
This discrimination has serious repercussions and often leads to destabilized families of immigrants. Additionally, many have criminal records; in some cases they have even been convicted of serious felonies.
To address these problems, the U.S. Government has passed laws that specifically target discrimination against Karens. These measures seek to reduce racism in immigration laws and procedures.
These laws include the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 and DREAM Act.
The DREAM Act offers undocumented children who were brought to the United States as minors a path towards citizenship by completing school or serving in the U.S. military, and states can decide if these students qualify for in-state tuition at public colleges and universities.
Additionally, the DREAM Act offers protections to immigrants who are battered by their spouses or other vulnerable individuals. It also shields immigrants who are involved in court proceedings and allows qualified stateless individuals to apply for lawful permanent residency.
The passage of the DREAM Act was met with controversy and opposition from both left and right political parties. Labor unions, human rights organizations, and some Hispanic organizations criticized it as creating an underclass of illegal immigrants. Furthermore, provisions within the DREAM Act meant increased border enforcement measures such as 300 miles of vehicle barriers and 105 camera towers.
The U.S. Immigration Act of 2008
In the United States, discrimination by racism is a pervasive practice. It often manifests itself in employers hiring or rejecting applicants based on their national origin or citizenship status. Furthermore, racism has often been used as an excuse for deportation or exclusion from the country.
The Immigration Act of 1990 created new racial categories and set quotas for foreign workers entering the United States. It also implemented backlog reduction requirements regarding family-sponsored and employment-based immigrant levels, along with country limits on visa allocations. Furthermore, it stressed “diversity” immigration by awarding visas to countries that had experienced low levels of migration in five years prior.
Immigration reformers with a civil rights agenda were particularly focused on restricting the entry of short-term foreign workers, known as “Bracero Program” immigrants. These workers came to America on temporary work permits from 1942 through 1964 (Calavita 1992; Massey, Durand and Malone 2002).
They worked in agriculture and construction on a contract basis, earning below market rates. It was believed that these workers would exploit local labor forces, driving down native wages and making it harder for American farmers to compete.
Congress finally abolished the Bracero Program in 1964, ending not only a scheme admitting low-wage workers but also one of few legal avenues through which Asian and Latin Americans could become citizens of the United States.
Section 3202 of the Act stipulates that religion shall not be used as a basis for discrimination in immigration administration unless specifically authorized by law. To implement this nondiscrimination provision, it is up to the Attorney General to create guidelines and procedures.
This bill amends the Immigration and Naturalization Act to enable the Secretary of State to issue visas for religious workers. It also creates a grant program that awards initial entry, adjustment of status, and citizenship assistance to community-based organizations.
Additionally, this legislation establishes a legal orientation program for all aliens detained by DHS, providing them with information on immigration law and resources to access legal services. It also creates an information help desk to aid noncitizens in preparing their asylum claims as well as other immigration-related legal matters.