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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Opinion - Will the real America please stand up? An immigrant's reflection.
As an immigrant from Quito, Ecuador, my dream as a child was to study abroad — a dream that came true in 1999, when I came to Nashville, Tennessee, as a high school exchange student. My host family helped me enroll at their alma mater, a Christian college, and eventually, I earned a Ph.D. focused on public opinion and migration. I now serve as director of research at the Public Religion Research Institute, where I study how Americans view immigrants and immigration policy. Integrating into American society was not easy, but it was enriching. I learned to value democracy, freedom of expression, the rule of law, tolerance and minority rights. I also became an informal ambassador of my own country, sharing my culture while learning about other cultures. I felt safe studying in the U.S. and never feared deportation. I can't imagine how international students feel today, with visas increasingly being revoked. I also ache for asylum seekers fleeing criminal violence in their home countries. My research shows that crime victimization is a key driver for migration from northern Central America. These individuals don't have time to wait years for a visa. They either flee or face death. Recent efforts to reduce both documented and undocumented immigration raise serious questions: Who counts as American? What are our priorities? Do we still value the rule of law? I see deep polarization along political and religious lines. A majority of Republicans support stricter limits on legal immigration, whereas only one-third of Democrats do. Trump's anti-immigration rhetoric resonates strongly among some groups. For example, a disturbing number of Republicans (67 percent) and white evangelical Protestants (62 percent) agree with the idea that undocumented immigrants are 'poisoning the blood' of the country. But even among these groups, not all policies enjoy support. Only a minority, including among Republicans and evangelicals, support the use of internment camps for undocumented immigrants, like the 42 currently being held at Guantanamo Bay. The Trump administration is also pushing the limits of legal and humane immigration policy. In one striking case, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident, was wrongly deported to El Salvador. Though the Supreme Court unanimously ruled he must be returned, the administration claims it has no obligation to bring him back. This sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the rule of law. Social science shows that contact with people different from us reduces prejudice. During my exchange experiences, I formed close bonds with people not expected to accept me, like Republicans and white evangelicals. These interactions were powerful. But when political leaders frame immigrants as threats, even personal connections can be outweighed. After 20 years in this country, I ask: Who benefits from this hostility? When immigrant families live in fear, unable to go about their lives, who wins? Deportations don't just break families apart; they erode trust, social cohesion and the economy. Cities report falling sales and labor shortages in industries that rely on immigrants. My story is just one of millions. Immigrants are not threats. We are students, professors, workers, business owners and neighbors. We enrich the fabric of this country. I was fortunate to have the safety and support that many are denied today. But today's policies dehumanize immigrants and corrode the democratic ideals that drew me here. When fear and mistrust dominate and legal protections weaken, we all lose. The real question is not just how we treat immigrants, but what kind of society we want to be. We must demand immigration policies that reflect American values of fairness, dignity and justice. It's time for each of us — citizens, communities and leaders — to speak out and support humane immigration reforms that strengthen, rather than undermine, our democracy. Diana Orcés, Ph.D., is the director of research at the Public Religion Research Institute. Originally from Quito, Ecuador, she holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Vanderbilt University and teaches graduate-level research design and methods at American University. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
5 days ago
- General
- The Hill
Will the real America please stand up? An immigrant's reflection.
As an immigrant from Quito, Ecuador, my dream as a child was to study abroad — a dream that came true in 1999, when I came to Nashville, Tennessee, as a high school exchange student. My host family helped me enroll at their alma mater, a Christian college, and eventually, I earned a Ph.D. focused on public opinion and migration. I now serve as director of research at the Public Religion Research Institute, where I study how Americans view immigrants and immigration policy. Integrating into American society was not easy, but it was enriching. I learned to value democracy, freedom of expression, the rule of law, tolerance and minority rights. I also became an informal ambassador of my own country, sharing my culture while learning about other cultures. I felt safe studying in the U.S. and never feared deportation. I can't imagine how international students feel today, with visas increasingly being revoked. I also ache for asylum seekers fleeing criminal violence in their home countries. My research shows that crime victimization is a key driver for migration from northern Central America. These individuals don't have time to wait years for a visa. They either flee or face death. Recent efforts to reduce both documented and undocumented immigration raise serious questions: Who counts as American? What are our priorities? Do we still value the rule of law? I see deep polarization along political and religious lines. A majority of Republicans support stricter limits on legal immigration, whereas only one-third of Democrats do. Trump's anti-immigration rhetoric resonates strongly among some groups. For example, a disturbing number of Republicans (67 percent) and white evangelical Protestants (62 percent) agree with the idea that undocumented immigrants are 'poisoning the blood' of the country. But even among these groups, not all policies enjoy support. Only a minority, including among Republicans and evangelicals, support the use of internment camps for undocumented immigrants, like the 42 currently being held at Guantanamo Bay. The Trump administration is also pushing the limits of legal and humane immigration policy. In one striking case, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident, was wrongly deported to El Salvador. Though the Supreme Court unanimously ruled he must be returned, the administration claims it has no obligation to bring him back. This sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the rule of law. Social science shows that contact with people different from us reduces prejudice. During my exchange experiences, I formed close bonds with people not expected to accept me, like Republicans and white evangelicals. These interactions were powerful. But when political leaders frame immigrants as threats, even personal connections can be outweighed. After 20 years in this country, I ask: Who benefits from this hostility? When immigrant families live in fear, unable to go about their lives, who wins? Deportations don't just break families apart; they erode trust, social cohesion and the economy. Cities report falling sales and labor shortages in industries that rely on immigrants. My story is just one of millions. Immigrants are not threats. We are students, professors, workers, business owners and neighbors. We enrich the fabric of this country. I was fortunate to have the safety and support that many are denied today. But today's policies dehumanize immigrants and corrode the democratic ideals that drew me here. When fear and mistrust dominate and legal protections weaken, we all lose. The real question is not just how we treat immigrants, but what kind of society we want to be. We must demand immigration policies that reflect American values of fairness, dignity and justice. It's time for each of us — citizens, communities and leaders — to speak out and support humane immigration reforms that strengthen, rather than undermine, our democracy. Diana Orcés, Ph.D., is the director of research at the Public Religion Research Institute. Originally from Quito, Ecuador, she holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Vanderbilt University and teaches graduate-level research design and methods at American University.
Axios
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Poll: Most Americans support some goals of the 2020 racial reckoning
Most Americans say they still support goals of the 2020 racial reckoning, including increasing diversity in the workplace and school curricula and recognizing the legacy of enslavement, per a recent survey. The big picture: Five years after George Floyd's death led to global protests, many of the corporate and institutional pledges inspired by them have fizzled under Trump 2.0. But the survey found glimmers of support for the ideas the protests helped make more mainstream. Broadly, support for the Black Lives Matter movement is down, and President Trump made rolling back DEI and cracking down on immigration a second-term priority. While much of the 2020 protests focused on policing, they also targeted a lack of diversity in corporate boards, universities built on slave labor, Confederate monuments and stolen Indigenous lands. By the numbers: A majority of Americans (54%) agree that "efforts to increase diversity almost always strengthen an organization's workforce," the survey published in April by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) found. Eight in ten Americans (80%) say they prefer the U.S. be made up of people from all over the world. That group included 91% of Democrats, 83% of independents, and 73% of Republicans. Just 15% said they prefer the country be primarily made up of people of Western European heritage. 51% are more likely to agree that "generations of slavery and discrimination against Black people and Native Americans have given white people unfair economic advantages." 86% agree that the nation's schools "should teach American history that includes both our best achievements and our worst mistakes." Yes, but: Only around four in ten Americans (43%) hold favorable views of the Black Lives Matter Movement, while 49% had unfavorable views. What they're saying: The success of BLM demonstrations can't be measured just by which police reforms passed and didn't, Phillip Atiba Solomon, CEO and co-founder of the Center for Policing Equity, tells Axios. "The protests were about signaling the past due notice on an unpaid debt owed to the descendants of former slaves." Solomon says those debts involved acknowledgement of past discrimination and the barriers that still exist. David J. Johns, CEO and executive director of the National Black Justice Collective, tells Axios it's important to build on the lingering goals of the reckoning and form new coalitions. "The goal is to really tap into that, to affirm for our folks that they're not crazy, that democracy has to be defended with each generation." Methodology: The PRRI American Values Survey was conducted online from Feb. 28 to March 20. The poll is based on a representative sample of 5,025 adults (age 18 and older) living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia who are part of Ipsos' Knowledge Panel®.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Survey finds most Asian Americans see Trump as a 'dangerous dictator'
[Source] A majority of Asian Americans agree with most Americans in viewing President Donald Trump as a 'dangerous dictator' whose power should be limited to protect U.S. democracy, according to a national survey released on April 29 by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). The findings came as Trump marked the first 100 days of his second term in office. Threat to democracy The PRRI poll, conducted from Feb. 28 to March 20 among 5,627 U.S. adults, found that 52% of Americans overall view Donald Trump as a 'dangerous dictator whose power should be limited before he destroys American democracy.' In contrast, 44% see him as a 'strong leader who should be given the power he needs to restore America's greatness.' Nearly 9 in 10 Democrats (87%) characterized Trump as a dangerous dictator, while 81% of Republicans described him as a strong leader. Independents were more divided, with 46% viewing him as a strong leader and 41% as a dangerous dictator. Trending on NextShark: Overall, 40% of Americans hold a favorable view of Trump, while 59% view him unfavorably. Favorability is highest among Republicans (83%), followed by independents (35%), and lowest among Democrats (8%). Broader distrust of Trump Among Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) respondents, 58% said Trump is a dangerous dictator — a rate higher than among white Americans (45%) and comparable to Black (67%) and Latino (63%) respondents. Trending on NextShark: Trump's favorability among AAPI respondents remains low, with only 22% holding a favorable view of him as of 2023. Favorability dropped to 17% among college-educated AAPI adults and 11% among those who are religiously unaffiliated. Strong support for rule of law Despite partisan differences in opinion about Trump, the survey found broad agreement on presidential accountability. Eighty-nine percent of respondents agreed that no elected official — including the president — should be above the law. Trending on NextShark: When asked about Trump's mass firing of federal employees across multiple agencies, 52% of Americans said it was an overreach of presidential power. Forty-seven percent said it was a legitimate use of authority. Concerns about democracy Melissa Deckman, CEO of PRRI, noted that concerns about the health of American democracy are widespread. While most Americans support democratic principles, 20% agreed with the statement: 'Because things have gotten so far off track, we need a president who is willing to break some laws if that's what it takes to save the country.' Among those who primarily consume far-right news sources, 50% agreed. Trending on NextShark: Seventeen percent of respondents said they would support postponing the 2026 midterm elections if Trump cannot resolve national crises. That view was backed by 27% of Republicans, 12% of independents and 8% of Democrats. This story is part of The Rebel Yellow Newsletter — a bold weekly newsletter from the creators of NextShark, reclaiming our stories and celebrating Asian American voices. Trending on NextShark: Subscribe free to join the movement. If you love what we're building, consider becoming a paid member — your support helps us grow our team, investigate impactful stories, and uplift our community. Subscribe here now! Download the NextShark App: Want to keep up to date on Asian American News? Download the NextShark App today!
Atlantic
18-05-2025
- General
- Atlantic
The Staying Power of the College Chaplain
On May 24, 1961, the Yale University chaplain William Sloane Coffin Jr. led a group of Freedom Riders on a 160-mile bus ride from Atlanta, Georgia, to Montgomery, Alabama, to protest segregation laws. The voyage and his subsequent arrest turned Coffin into a national figure in the fight for civil rights. Yet even as he made headlines, Coffin remained committed to another, quieter aspect of his role as a college chaplain. Over the course of his 18 years at Yale, he spent virtually every afternoon counseling students. They discussed relationships, academic worries, theological questions, and—for those eligible—the prospect of being drafted into the Vietnam War. A priest first and foremost, he considered it 'a great privilege' to enter what he called 'the secret garden of another person's soul.' Today, at a moment when young people are much less likely to say they're religious, you might think that the demand for college chaplains would be on the decline. But recent evidence suggests that the opposite is true. Although a 2022 report from the Public Religion Research Institute found that nearly 40 percent of young adults do not identify with any established religion, college students are actually attending religious-life programs in larger numbers than they have in decades, and many colleges and universities have more chaplains, some volunteer and some paid, than they did in the early 2000s, James W. Fraser, a professor emeritus of history and education at New York University and the author of the forthcoming book Religion and the American University, told me. Many of these chaplains are taking inspiration from Coffin: They're reimagining what a spiritual leader can be in order to better meet the needs and beliefs of their students—many of whom, religious or not, still crave a sense of belonging, meaning, and purpose. For centuries, religion was central to American university life. Many colleges were established as divinity schools and led by presidents who doubled as ordained ministers, John Schmalzbauer, a religious-studies professor at Missouri State University who studies chaplaincy and campus ministry, told me. But in the early 20th century, a great number of those institutions began shifting their focus from ministry to research, and college presidents started to devote less of their time to spiritual life. In their place, universities hired chaplains to preside over daily chapel services and offer moral guidance to students. The shape of the college chaplaincy transformed multiple times over the next several decades—first during the Coffin era, when it became a platform from which to advocate for social justice; and again in the late 1970s and '80s, when the social movements of the '60s lost steam, academic communities became significantly less religious, and the college chaplaincy shed some of its previous status. Modern college chaplains, deans, and directors of religious life have taken on a new grab bag of duties. In addition to leading forms of worship and talking with students about their faith, as they always have, many chaplains also help students navigate housing insecurity, safety threats, and campus protests. Although the position was once thought of as a 'defined pot,' Kirstin Boswell, Elon University's chaplain and dean of multifaith engagement, told me, it is now more an interdisciplinary 'web.' The chaplains themselves are also much more diverse. Whereas the chaplaincy was once dominated by white Christian men, many today are women or people of color, and they come from a range of religious traditions. Of the 471 chaplains recently surveyed by the Association for Chaplaincy and Spiritual Life in Higher Education (ACSLHE)—the nation's largest membership organization for university chaplains, directors, and deans of religious and spiritual life—6 percent said they don't identify with a major religion, and 2 percent said they don't believe in God at all. Chaplains' primary work is still counseling students, but many approach these conversations with more openness than their predecessors did. Reporting this story, I spoke with about a dozen college chaplains and campus-ministry experts across the country, several of whom sit on ACSLHE's board. Citing their own experiences, which are backed up by a robust body of research, they explained that most modern-day chaplains both engage with established religious practices and embrace alternative forms of spirituality or self-care, which can be as varied as coloring sessions, friendship courses, and nature walks. Some students might see 'the religious center as a place where someone would try to convert them,' Vanessa Gomez Brake, the senior associate dean of religious life at the University of Southern California and the first atheist-humanist to occupy that position at a major American university, told me. But chaplains today tend to draw from a range of texts and traditions, rather than proselytizing their own beliefs. For less-religious students, some of their first conversations about spiritual matters may be with chaplains. At a stage of life when they are figuring out who they are and what they believe, many undergrads are likely to find themselves in a 'hardwired body, mind, and soul spiritual growth spurt,' Lisa Miller, a clinical psychologist and the founder of the Spirituality Mind Body Institute at Columbia University, told me. Although religion is by no means necessary for navigating this growth spurt, it has historically served as a helpful starting point for many students. Until relatively recently, most American families were religious to some degree, which fostered 'a de facto spiritual life in the air and water of our culture,' Miller explained. Regardless of their own religious beliefs, many teens used to arrive on campus with a 'backpack of spiritual and religious practices.' Today, many show up having never prayed. Perhaps because of students' lack of exposure, contemporary college chaplains say they 'have never felt more needed,' Schmalzbauer, of Missouri State, told me. Having devoted their lives to service and existential inquiry, chaplains can be well positioned to advise religious devotees, the spiritually curious, or just the average young person beset by angst. Their guidance might help undergrads as they sort through any number of uncertainties, whether about God, school, friendships, romance, family, or their undecided futures. 'Students need someone who will hear them, who will sit with them, who will be present with them, and who won't be on their phones in front of them,' Nathan Albert, ACSLHE's board president and the chaplain at the University of Lynchburg, told me. Of course, the help college students need is sometimes beyond what chaplains are trained to provide. Recent data show that Gen Z is, by some measures, the loneliest generation in the United States, and that rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation on university campuses are at a peak. 'These kids achieve to very high levels, they jump through the hoops, they get to college, and then they're left wondering what it's all for,' Jennifer Breheny Wallace, the author of Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic—And What We Can Do About It, told me. Universities aren't blind to the pressures students are under, and many have made student wellness a priority. This may be one reason more schools are investing in religious and spiritual life, Schmalzbauer, NYU's Fraser, and others told me. But crucially, as Schmalzbauer explained, pastoral care is not the same thing as psychological counseling. Chaplains can occasionally end up in tough spots, particularly as demand for mental-health care has outpaced the supply of therapists and psychiatrists on college campuses. Varun Soni, the dean of religious life at USC, told me that most of his students are dealing with routine anxieties, which he feels comfortable talking through. Yet he also meets with some students experiencing depression and suicidal ideation. For these more serious cases, Soni and his colleagues work closely with the university's mental-health center and even walk students to a counselor's door themselves. This isn't to say that chaplains don't have a role to play in improving student health and well-being. Research from Columbia University's Miller and others has found that spiritual development is associated with protection against depression and substance abuse, and with setting young adults up for healthier relationships, more purposeful work, and greater emotional resilience. In recent years, some schools have paired chaplains with therapists and counselors to provide 'preventative mental health care,' Wendy Cadge, the president of Bryn Mawr College and founder of the Chaplaincy Innovation Lab, told me. Yet, unlike mental-health professionals, the chaplain's goal is not to treat students, but rather to help them find community, meaning, and a reprieve from the grind. 'People want to feel loved for who they are and not what they do,' Chaz Lattimore Howard, the university chaplain and vice president for social equity and community at the University of Pennsylvania, told me. Whether or not they believe in God, they 'want to be reassured that it's going to be okay.' In a world where so much may not seem okay, college chaplains say they can help students—not via certainty or quick fixes, but as Coffin once did: by tending to their inner lives.
