Ah, Donald Trump, everyone’s favorite comedian – oh wait, sorry, everyone’s favorite “politician.” Because of his absurdity, it seems as if Seth Meyers is right: Trump is running as a joke and not as a presidential candidate. The infamous Republican candidate has made headline after headline – “Trump Insults His Way to Presidency,” “Trump’s Call to Bar Immigrants from the U.S.,” and most notably but not shockingly, “Trump Vows to Ban Muslims from Entering the U.S.” He has made similar remarks against Muslims in the past, like his proposals of surveilling mosques and creating a Muslim-only database for the government. He has gone far enough to say that all Muslim-Americans should possess special identification cards to note others of their faith. Trump fails to take into consideration one of America’s key values: religious freedom. The first amendment clearly states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” Trump is now oppressing those who practice Islam, one of the world’s most prominent religions. Some people have gone far enough to say that Trump’s treatment towards Muslims is similar to Hitler’s treatment towards Jews, considering both figures called for special identification cards.

Muslims are not the only ones he is discriminating against; Mexicans are also one of his targets, as evident by his extreme comments: “The Mexican Government is forcing their most unwanted people into the United States. They are, in many cases, criminals, drug dealers, rapists…” and, “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people…” However, according to a 2010 study done by the American Immigration Council, immigrants are less likely than the native-born to be behind bars or to engage in criminal behavior. Another report done by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine reveals that “neighborhoods with greater concentrations of immigrants have much lower rates of crime and violence than comparable non-immigrant neighborhood.” Thus, there are many studies and reports that prove the opposite of Trump’s racist stereotype of immigrants, which calls into question the authenticity of Trump’s wild statements. The United States has had a grand history of housing immigrants from all over the globe, so why back away from who we truly are now?