The anniversary of the September 11th attacks is always a precarious time. Because this tragedy is wrapped up in nationalist sentiments, the memorializing of our national grief easily gets caught up in anti-Islamic sentiments. Grief and pain and nationalism all seem to get conflated and simplified during this time. This anniversary is often a time of heightened vigilance for … [Read more...]
#CloseTheCamps: No 4th of July While Children Die
On July 2nd, I participated in a #CloseTheCamps rally demanding that the illegal concentration camps for undocumented children and their families -- with 71% of migrants being held in for-profit facilities as of November 2017 -- be shut down. I stood on the sidewalk of a local park with about 60 other protesters as we held signs and rattled noisemakers, chanting and begging our … [Read more...]
Immigration Olympics?: Why Immigrants Don’t Have to Be Superheroes to Deserve Respect or Access
In mainstream liberal media, there’s no shortage of stories about heroic immigrants who rescue people from burning buildings or save their classmates during a school shooting. We applaud these people for their acts of bravery and compassion, and more often than not, we share their stories as examples of why immigrants are great for our community. Coming from an immigrant … [Read more...]
