18 Comments
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Gaby's avatar

yes!!!!! Im a first gen immigrant and im sick of being used as a little economic pawn. Yes some of us work "hard," and have jobs, etc, but that does not make me more deserving to be an immigrant than those that do not. I don't have to justify our community's existence through labor.

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rachel a. dawson's avatar

yes. this, all of this. thank you.

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Sílvia Juncà's avatar

Yes to all of this.

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poppy's avatar

Another banger, clara

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Jeff's avatar

The cops and the National Guard and the Marines are sent because the protest weren’t peaceful. Protest peacefully and they won’t be sent. It’s really that easy clara

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KM's avatar

I think the adjective 'hardworking' is meant to make people relate to the people being taken and instill empathy and fear that the next people who could be victimized by the government next is themselves. Immigrants full stop have been very successfully othered and demonized by this administration. Many Americans voted for Trump to get rid of this phantom menace they couldn't quite relate to and thus feared was taking something away from them and their country. But if they are 'hardworking' moms and dads, working at your local Home Depot and attending their kids school grad, hey, they're just like us and we don't deserve to be ripped from our communities and families by force, so maybe we should object to that happening to them. Trump spent a lot of time painting immigrants as criminals. 'Hardworking' chips that paint away and helps shine a light on exactly who is being victimized, so I get why it's being said.

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Emily K's avatar

Thank you for speaking about this. You’ve said what I feel but much more eloquently than I could ever express it.

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Brooke C.'s avatar

Thank you for speaking up on this. So many Substackers staying silent right now. 💔

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Nazra Mohammed's avatar

Well said as always, Clara. Also, if the US didn't destroy half the countries out there under the pretense of 'liberating' them, there wouldn't be the need for anyone to go seek a 'better' life elsewhere.

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Faustine's avatar

Thank you for saying out loud things that should go without saying. This is necessary in these times.

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Benthall Adventures's avatar

We’re watching from the safety of our slow travel leg through England - but some of our kids are in LA. This is horrific. Every update feels heavier than the last, and your words slice right through the noise.

Thank you for naming what so many feel but struggle to say.

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Genesis's avatar

I feel all of this so deeply. Thank you for putting it in such an authentic way. As a Venezuelan migrant living in Australia, I’m so distraught watching all of this. No one should endure this kind of oppression, let alone those that had to flee their countries in fear of persecution. The fact that there are categories of humanity we assign such as whether one is existing illegally or as an alien and somehow some are hardworking - as if migrating itself isn’t already arduous work - is ridiculous.

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Elizabeth Jones's avatar

Yes! So true! I work with refugees, and while many are hard-working, there are plenty of Afghan women staying home and having a baby every year or two. They are lovely women, gracious and hospitable, and even if they weren't they deserve to live in safety!!

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Jo's avatar

GRACIAS!!!!!!!!!

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Mister Bob's avatar

No

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