I never thought, in the year 2026, that we would be here. I never thought, sitting in history class as a kid, that one day the words on the pages would materialize in front of me – that we would be living them in real time. I never thought that members of my own family, and people I once called friends, would stoop so low. I definitely never thought the line would be this clear: who is, and who isn’t, on the right side of history.
I remember learning about Germany during the Second World War. I remember neighbors telling on neighbors, friends betraying friends. I remember learning about a whole people group, oppressed, living in constant fear for their lives. Right now, we are living the same script in 2026. I think it is surprising to no one that I am talking about our immigrant community.
I have always said that issues are never singular. What our country does overseas is the testing ground for what we will dismiss and what they can get away with at home. It came as no shock to me after watching our involvement in Iran for years and our current involvement in Palestine, that our government is now abducting our neighbors from their homes, from their cars, and from their jobs. There is a very famous poem that I think is fitting.
“First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me,” said Pastor Martin Niemöller.
From what I have witnessed, there is clear cherry picking when it comes to the relationship between immigration and crime. Everyone cares about crime until the president is convicted of 34 felonies, or mentioned 38,000 times in the recently released Epstein files, according to the Supreme Court and the Department of Justice, and reported by ABC News and the New York Times. They don’t care when it’s rich white men; they only care when it fits the narrative that brown people are committing violent crimes against white people. In reality, according to the American Immigration Council, as immigration rises, crime falls, and immigration does not contribute to rises in violent crime.
In another study done by the Migration Policy Institute, it is shown that immigrants actually contribute to lowering crime rates in places that have inclusive policies. But our president is telling us to “move on” from the elites and politicians implicated in numerous allegations of horrific crimes against women and children.
It is imperative that we do not move on.
We must not let our elected officials and the upper class get away with things they have gotten away with for years. It is also important that we call out the wrongdoings and stand up for our neighbors, many of whom are in the legal process of becoming citizens or, in many cases, are citizens already.
Immigrants are what make America great. Unless you are of Native American descent, you are only here because of immigrants. Not only do they bring culture and diversity to our country, but they also boost the economy. According to the Center for Migration Studies, “In order to grow, the U.S. economy will continue to need immigrant workers in certain industries. A Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas study found that immigrant laborers have helped grow the post-pandemic economy, spurring job growth while also keeping down inflation.”
Many would label these ideals as radical. When did it become “radical” to care for people? When did it become “radical” to not want people to be dehumanized and brutalized? I’ll go a step further: since when is it “radical” to want people to have access to housing, healthcare, and food?
The answer to my questions is that it is not radical. It never was. As long as people have existed, as far back in history as we have records of, people who rise to power have exploited the less fortunate and the working class. This is what they do. The sooner that we recognize what is going on, the sooner people can get the help that they need. The powerful have deemed helping a country’s own citizens as “radical,” while we shovel money out the door to help other countries’ military pursuits and spend it on pointless things for our own military, according to Not My Tax Dollars and Medium.
America was built on the backs of immigrants, and we continue to build on their labor. My plea is this: pay attention to the facts. Pay attention to the statistics, which are a direct contradiction to what conservative thought leaders are telling you in the media. Pay attention to where your hard-earned tax dollars are going. And, above all, do not let the finger-pointing distract you from the crimes committed by the ones pointing the finger.
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