There was an article posted the blog “Feministing” entitled “What’s Missing from Time’s one minute Immigration Quiz” that broke down and analyzed a one minute immigration quiz posted in Time magazine that was called “Find Out If President Trump Would Let You Immigrate To Canada.” The quiz allowed anyone to answer seven simple questions to find out if you would be allowed to immigrate to the States under Trumps RISE Act. The article explains that “ the RAISE Act — Trump’s proposed immigration reform bill — would operate on a points-based system, giving priority to people between the ages of 26 and 30, with a doctorate in a STEM field, English language proficiency, and a high-paying job offer. Applicants would need 30 points to be eligible to apply for a visa (with no guarantee they would be approved); those with the highest number of points would jump to the front of the line.” The quiz was aimed to put more Americans in the shoes of the immigrants buy showing them how difficult the Visa application process is and how much harder it will be under the RISE Act. Sostaita explains further problems with this quiz. She states that rather than explaining how tiring and exhausting receiving a Visa is, Time turned it into a fun one-minute quiz game. She explains that it takes way longer than a minute to get a Visa and turning the quiz into such a short amount of time takes away from that process. She also explains that in trying to make white people feel empathy for others, Time’s quiz falls into a trap of centering whiteness and white feelings in political activism. The quiz is trying to get white U.S. citizens feel affected, when in reality it doesn’t affect them. The RISE Act targets poor women of color and that alone should be triggering.
This was a very interesting article to read. In class we talked about how there is a need to spread a message and connect, and I do think Time was trying to do that by posting the quiz. However, Sostaita brought up some really good points. It’s never enough to just raise awareness and walk away. What can we do to stand up and change these policies? How can we make sure people like President Trump and the RISE Act aren’t burying them? Spreading awareness is important but if it’s done the wrong way it can cause more harm than good.
Keywords: Trump, RISE Act, Time magazine
Author: Purple
I agree with you in that this quiz seems a bit sensationalist to me, and that Time should have instead provided resources and information to actually help people facing these immigration limits. It seems to me like this was made more for those who are ‘conventional’ United States citizens than immigrants who will actually be threatened by this new legislation. Additionally, by simplifying it down to seven questions those actually searching for immigration help (that most likely have more complicated situations) wouldn’t get too much out of the quiz. This reminds me of ‘privilege’ quizzes that have been circulating over the past few years, the goal of which is to somehow easily quantify how privileged someone is. This quiz seems…
This is an important topic to address as it brings to light how anti-immigration agendas are embedded in national policy. The true implications of harsh anti-migration policies are often not broadcasted, making them inaccessible to the public. Times coverage of the policy allowed it to be accessible in the average, white household. However, it is equally if not more critical to read Sostaita’s critique of Times. Although this bite-sized introduction to the United States’ RISE act is easily consumable, it is also very problematic. When examining policy through a transnational feminist lens, it is essential that we center the voices of those implicated rather than adhering to the comfort of the dominant population. This blog entry was an extremely important…