'The world is watching': Analyst warns Trump against destroying American Dream ideals

Donald Trump could be judged harshly by the world if he breaks a promise at the heart of the American Dream, an analyst has claimed.

The president and his administration have cracked down hard on immigration in a way that could undermine the "credibility" of the country, Brent McKenzie argued. The Hill columnist considered the crackdown on immigration as a move that could shatter the American Dream in the eyes of the world.

"The process might be long and complicated, but immigrants who followed the rules would eventually find opportunity," McKenzie wrote. "The U.S. was not only a place where people could succeed; it also openly welcomed those willing to work, contribute and build a life. Increasingly, people outside the U.S. are beginning to wonder whether that promise still holds."

McKenzie went on to argue that the "cultural confidence" of the United States depends on immigration, and that the Trump administration is actively undermining the future of the country.

He added, "But recent policy decisions are testing that narrative. When lawful permanent residents are excluded from government programs designed to help small businesses grow, or when people deep in the legal immigration process are suddenly caught in policy pauses and reversals, the message is larger than any single rule.

"In recent years, that confidence has eroded. Immigration has become a central point of political conflict. Today, immigration is no longer just a policy debate. It has become a cultural and political dividing line. And for people watching from outside the U.S., that shift is impossible to miss.

"The question facing the U.S. today is not whether immigration policy should evolve. Every country revises its policies over time. The question is whether the larger promise that once defined the American experience still holds."

Trump's changes to immigration policy in the US could, McKenzie argues, change the tide in countries across the world. This, he believes, is the reason there is such a close eye on the president.

"How the U.S. answers that question will shape not only immigration policy but the country’s place in the world," he wrote. "If the U.S. wants the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs and builders to continue choosing America, it must do more than defend its borders.

"It must also defend the promise that’s drawn them here for generations. The world is watching to see whether that promise still stands."