No human is illegal
There were protests across the Country this weekend, timed with the ICE raids, demanding the closure of detention camps at the border. I joined the one in San Francisco and as we chanted “close the camps” it all felt unsettling and bizarre. Why is it that this has to be said out aloud? That we have to insist it’s inhumane to cage a child; to squash dozens of women and men in standing room only cells; to rip apart families? We’ve all seen the images, heard the testimonies, learned about the abuse. It doesn’t matter where you saw the images, they speak for themselves. These are human beings packed like sardines in cages — these are human beings in concentration camps.
We’ve also been here before. Yes people are forgetful, but we also have multiple survivors of past camps just like these reminding us that we’ve been here before. But so many are not listening and choose instead to engage in the politics of it. I tweeted about the protest I attended and shared a video of the dozens gathered in Union Square captioned “families belong together”.
Needless to say the trolls and bots immediately jumped at the chance to rage and school me about “open borders” and “the law”.
Back to feeling unsettled.
These are the same folks (and bots) that would jump at the chance to protect a white child or fetus. Dare I ask why they’re so blind to the images of brown kids in cages? Or remind them that seeking asylum is not illegal? It’s inconvenient I’m sure to also remember that their farms and restaurants are mostly also run by the hard labor of these “law breakers”. Or that there are many other races that fall under the wide span of “undocumented” but for some reason we’re only rounding up a certain minority.
In a mixed circle of friends I happened to mention how worried I was for the families across the Country who were hiding this weekend. Of the kids who didn’t come out to play in the yard; the parents who didn’t get groceries; the grandparents who didn’t take a walk in the park. I shared that I was haunted by the chants of “close the camps” and couldn’t imagine what it must feel like to be directly facing the threat of being put in a camp. I was immediately opposed by someone with “why don’t they try immigrating the right way”. The conversation then turned to what might it would take to “fix the issue” and “the broken immigration system”. On and on went the armchair politics.
Back to feeling unsettled.
Why is it so hard for it to sink in — baby jails are immoral. This isn’t about your lazy views, or your selfish politics. This is about a fundamental human right — freedom. And not the loosely defined version we like to throw around when we bomb and destabilize other nations. This is about the freedom to ask for asylum (not a crime); to not be held in a confined space indefinitely; to not be ripped apart from your parents; to be allowed a fucking shower.
As for the “right way to immigrate” let us not forget that this is a privilege. Let us also remember that it is not a choice when families walk hundreds of miles with little ones in their arms to seek help. “Fixing immigration” is lengthy issue, one that I won’t pretend to have all the answers to. But this is not the need at hand. What we need now is to “fix” — read close — the camps.
What we need is to come together and remember what it takes to stand on the right side of history. So for now even though we’re unsettled let’s:
March. Lights for Liberty events.
Donate. Pay immigrant’s bail; Contribute air miles to lawyers; Support Raices.
Write to Congress. Find Your Representative and Senators here.
Share information. Immigrant rights; Stopped by police.
And don’t engage with the trolls on twitter (its exhausting).
