I watched this video and remembered Mamita’s post about how the experience of immigrant women is so hidden, so unknown. And yet, here they are, on the front lines, being attacked and horribly brutalized by the police in the name of “immigration enforcement.” (trigger warning for violence in video)
Are the protection of borders worth this? And please don’t tell me that this was the mother’s fault. I know that all the anti-immigrant people will be here soon to tell me that it’s their fault, and I can handle that. But if any supposed “ally” says “what were they thinking?” I have a few suggestions. First, sit for a moment and open yourself up to the humanity of these women and the humanity of their children. Know what it feels like to feel terror and confusion and a fear you can’t breathe through. Then take a moment to consider that even when the government offers you something, you, a black immigrant mother that may or may not be legal, may actually have considerable reason to not trust that government.
And then go back and remember the humanity of these women. And the humanity of their children. And then remember that sometimes immigration plays out in the streets in a much different way than they do in the cloistered halls of Netroots Nation. The start considering how we can change tactics to meet the needs of those in the streets, instead of the pocket books of all the 501c3s.
