Reports of Navajo people being detained in immigration sweeps sparks concern from tribal leaders
The DOJ argued in court that Indigenous people don't have birthright citizenship, even though they have for 100 years
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I worry for a cousin of mine.
He's Vietnamese and was adopted by my aunt and uncle about 15 years ago or so. By all accounts he's now a U.S. citizen. He's in college. Doing great.
But he IS brown. I'm pretty sure my uncle voted for trump for some dumbass reason. I worry my cousin could be caught up in some raid at some point.
I'm white and hang out with mostly white people who don't understand how scary this is.
I ask them if they can prove to me - right now - that they're a citizen. Lots of them legitimately think a Driver's License is enough.
I explain that it is not proof of citizenship and that lots of people have licenses without being a citizen. So if they were brown, they might be arrested based on their lack of papers.
And once arrested and sent to a camp, your ability to produce any documentation you may have diminishes to almost nothing.
Demand your white friends show them their green card or birth certificate.
If you think that's a joke, ask around. I've been asked that twice in my life. But because I'm not Default American™, I have to prove a lot harder that I was born here.
And if they do, tell them, "no, the long form birth certificate," since that was demanded of Obama (and it still wasn't enough).
Yup. Everyone is quick to forget how the US treated Irish, Italian, and Jewish people in past generations. There really is such a thing as "not white enough", and when these jerks run out of people to pick on, that's next.
Also, a bad agent can just get rid of your passport. So carry a photocopy, and let the lawyer your family gets show up with the real one in court.
I have a pdf copy of my passport that I have loaded on my iPhone.
Get a passport card. It's valid ID, proves you're a citizen, and doesn't have your address on it so cops and the fascists from ICE don't learn where you live. Keep the original passport somewhere secure, like you said
Yeah, but that doesn't effect them, so why should they care?
/s, obviously.
My cousin and his wife adopted their son from Guatemala. Great kid, growing up to become an admirable adult. They're right-wing Trump supporters in the state of Florida. I know they voted for this shit, and probably don't conceive of the idea this could ever harm THEIR son. But all it takes is the fact that he doesn't look American enough to some racist in a uniform for him to get snatched up in a sweep. Really hope he doesn't face this kind of harassment, but now its become much more likely.