I’ve been told to “stay safe,” and to “know my rights,” probably over 10 times the past week. And while I appreciate their concern and I know there are good intentions behind these comments, I feel like there’s another side to the story of mass deportations that must be shared.
Right now, the United States' public seems to be outraged that the Trump administration has taken such measures. Protests have swarmed the country and people are quick to come to the defense of undocumented immigrants who are currently in a vulnerable position, arguing that immigrant presence is crucial to keep the United States running.
However, this outrage seems to have a limit, doesn’t it? Would you be in favor of sending U.S. troops to relieve countries suffering under authoritarian regimes, the same countries that create the influx of the mass migrations to the United States? Would you be happy paying much more in taxes so that the United States can assist other countries? Chances are, the answer is no. In fact, the majority of Americans (80%) already think the United States should not take a leading role in foreign affairs.
Being outraged about the mass deportations seems to be more about the show than the actual knowledge or even care for an immigrant’s context. Mass deportations are not a black and white, right or wrong, issue. There’s more to it than condemning and resuming your lives, perhaps feeling better at having displayed your stance in conversations with friends or on social media. It seems like we’ve quickly gone from social awareness to the same old performative activism. While it is important to demonstrate your care by showering people with lamenting messages or trying to cast yourself as someone who relates to the issue, this type of activism can actually take attention away from the problem itself. It might not be intentional, but performative activism can make victims feel isolated and make them hesitant to share their stories — especially when their reality contrasts with the heavily romanticized narrative being spread. I fear this is what’s happening right now.
Every time someone says “stay safe,” I wonder: Does that solve the problem? Is that really the takeaway from this turbulent situation? I don’t even think that “immigrants built America,” or “immigration is not a crime,” are proper takeaways. What this situation is calling for is a need to understand what is failing in the world to cause such mass migrations that end in mass deportations. The superficial outrage is ignoring a crucial question to understand migration patterns: What if home countries are not safe either? What if right now is the better option for immigrants?
This narrative usually goes “people leave in search of better opportunities,” making it sound like it was a choice. Sometimes, it’s not a choice, and the current outrage about mass deportations fails to acknowledge this by staying in a surface-level, aseptic political stance that wants to avoid the real problem that causes migration in the first place.
Governments in other countries are failing their people, leading to emigration to the United States. And the people in the United States, if they really wish to help immigrants, would be open to having perhaps some difficult conversations with immigrants, letting them speak and truly understand their story: Why did they come here? Is there something the international community could have done to prevent them from being forced to leave their homes? It is common to hear, “it’s not America’s problem,” well I would say that if the problem is leading to mass migrations into the United States, then it very much is its problem.
If we start to acknowledge that issues like the Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence and mass deportations go beyond a simple right or wrong, we change things in the future. Acknowledging and questioning it is the first step to figuring out the problem. It’s futile to spend time thinking about why mass deportations happen, that won’t change anything. People are getting deported and lamenting it now has no impact, you can't stop it from happening or anything that will happen after they’re sent back. Displaying your sadness won’t change this fact. As U.S. citizens, if you care about the mass deportations, you should try to be aware of global politics and understand the crucial role the United States has as a player in the international system. Only in this way it is possible to understand that mass deportations are just a symptom of larger problems. It is worth wondering why mass migrations toward the United States are constantly happening and what role the United States can play to promote global prosperity so no one has to feel like they are forced to leave a home country that has failed them.
MARIANA MARTINEZ is a College sophomore from Bogotá, Colombia. Her email is marmari@sas.upenn.edu.
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