Trump Favors White Refugees: History's Rhyme Scheme
While the NYT reports this as a fresh development in Trump's xenophobic playbook ( Source: NYT Politics ), it's less an overhaul and more a return to branding. This echoes the 1924 Immigration Act, which explicitly limited immigration from non-white countries, and later, the post-WWII reluctance to accept Jewish refugees while welcoming certain European populations. The 'merit-based' system always
seems to find 'merit' in those who look a certain way. One might wonder if this 'new' policy is simply making the quiet parts loud, a candor many prefer to the polite dehumanization. After all, how many 'nation-building' exercises in the Middle East resulted in refugees we then refuse to accept, unless they're from, say, Norway? The selective outrage of welcoming some while bombing others is a
double standard so entrenched it's practically tradition.