Voting Restrictions for Immigrants in U. S.

News of Donald Trump’s endorsement by U. S. Border Patrol and Customs officers instilled a sense of anxiety in commuting Mexicans. A flustered U.S. citizen residing in Tijuana searched Google for a voter registration form. She noticed a catch.

To fill out a voter’s registration form in California, the necessary sections include social security number, name and residency.

Statistics show only about 5 percent of citizens abroad voted in 2012, posing a problem regarding the components of who chooses the president.

Students abroad said the process is not accessible, making voter registration more difficult than expected. Emily Quiles, Chula Vista resident studying journalism at Richmond, the American International University in London, explained complications in the registration process poses a disadvantage for voter turnout.

“Living outside the U.S. gives [citizens abroad] a more holistic perspective when it comes to government,” she said.

Students abroad admit to have considered asking relatives to mail in their ballot from the United States, falsifying their residency.

A prime concern that has been minimally addressed in this election is voting accessibility. Citizens who are disadvantaged vote less because they are unable to register without a residence or have issues with even getting to the post office.

Similarly many students who live in Tijuana report using fake residencies when registering.

Estimates of legal resident population released in 2012 by the Department of Homeland Security revealed that there are about 13.3 million permanent legal residents in the United States. An estimated 8.8 million were eligible to become citizens in the future, but were unable to vote. In a border community with a large immigrant presence, people on campus are finding difficulty voting during an election that affects them directly.

Alejandro Miranda, 23-year-old computer science major and green card holder, said permanent residents are close to citizens.

“They want to become citizens, and they can’t go outside of the United States for more than 30 days at a time without prior notice,” he said. “Other than that, they’re practically American citizens. The main difference is that you can get your residency revoked, sometimes just because an officer feels like it.”

Low level of mobility for permanent residents outside of the country further brings into question their eligibility to vote.

“The election will have a negative effect on all minorities in the United States because Donald Trump is very racist. It will affect business with Mexico, since he’s such a close minded guy,” Miranda says.

He said his vote would contribute even more to the election since aiming for a higher education often means they are more likely to be informed.

Students like Alexis Herrera, an American citizen, said voting was difficult to find in general. Her main source of information for this election was social media. Youth interest in politics declined after Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders was eliminated in the primaries, leading to low initiative to research about candidates.

Wisely, a more informed and inclusive vote would improve the turnout of the election, and more effectively serve the needs of U. S. inhabitants.

Student Alejandra Martinez* agrees that students with American Student Visas or permanent residency should be allowed to vote. Her life would suffer through significant repercussions of new border restrictions.

“I think Mexican students should be able to vote because the election affects them, and they can contribute educated opinions,” Martinez* said.

The question most used to oppose legal resident voting is that if they are granted the vote, where will there be a distinction with citizens.

Southwestern College board member Humberto Peraza said that the vote can’t be granted to non-citizens because they are not committed to the country.

Miranda counter-argued that permanent residents could be viewed as citizens on trial.

“If I could vote, I would still apply for citizenship,” he said. “You can get your residency revoked because an officer doesn’t like how you look or suspects something. Naturalization is a must have either way.”