Immigrants Are Not Your Enemies

Matt Gowel

Over the past few years, it seems that crisis has been lurking around every corner. We’re always one bad day away from war, the economy is always about to collapse, and the “ideals of our nation” are always under “attack.” This is the line that has been pushed to us by republicans and democrats alike throughout every election in living memory. So, what is the truth? Are we truly living in the end times, or is all this really for political gain? 

In order to properly consider these questions, we need to look no further than our current government and its ruling party. According to the republicans that are in power, our way of life is “under attack.” One of the largest issues at the moment, we are told, is the “fact” that tens of thousands of immigrants pour across the Mexican-American border every day (in reality, these numbers starkly decreased in 2024). These people make their way to all corners of the country, where they simultaneously “steal” the highest paid, most “skilled” jobs from “real” Americans, rob the government blind through social security and welfare payments, while somehow also owning all of the property in the nation.

I implore you to seriously consider how this contradictory story can be the most significant plight facing the United States. This blog is not meant to change anyone’s mind, however it is also not my hope that only those who hold my same beliefs read this far. This is an invitation to those who disagree with me to consider ideas that may not have previously occurred to them. If what you believe truly is the way of the world, listening to a few paragraphs of criticism should not shake you. If a conviction you hold cannot bear to hear contrary opinions, it probably isn’t based in reality.

About two weeks ago, I attended a protest in my city. As we marched down Main street, people waved poster boards bearing Sharpied-on phrases like: “Immigrants are welcome here!” and “No human is illegal!” This is not a violent movement, there were no Antifa super-soldiers throwing bricks at windows or slashing tires. This is a movement rooted in compassion for our neighbors, care for those who grow our food and raise our children, and a desire to support the persecuted. 

Persecution is not nearly too strong a word to describe how the recently elected president has been treating migrants. His expansion of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), attempts to normalize brutal images of children and families lined up in chains, and orders to expand the holding capacities of Guantanamo Bay and other federal prisons all clearly show a downward trend in the way these people are treated in the United States.

Immigrants are not your enemy. They do not come here to steal what is rightfully yours, or otherwise harm you in any way. They come here in pursuit of the same thing all people desire: a better life for themselves and for their families. How cruel is it that we send innocent people back to suffer in awful conditions that they quite literally crossed oceans and entire continents to escape?

You are not a revolutionary for persecuting the poor and disenfranchised. This is not a dismantling of the “deep state” or a taking back of what is “rightfully ours.” By believing that immigrants are the problem, you are playing directly into the hands of the true issue. 

You are not being robbed by immigrants; in reality most pay taxes without receiving government benefits of any kind. You are being robbed and played for a fool by the billionaire class. These people hoard wealth produced by working class folks that they have never met. They are the ones who want to dismantle the government programs families depend on. They, along with their firms, are the ones who lower your wages, send your job overseas, and buy up all the property. Their motivation is simple: they want nothing more than to increase their own wealth beyond the mountains of assets that they already possess.

The problem is not immigrants; that idea is an absurd conspiracy theory pushed by robber barons who want to continue to pick your pockets. This thin defense gives way to the truth: billionaires are not your friends, they want to decrease your wages so they can be have more money, give themselves government handouts with your social security so they can have more money, buy up all the homes and turn the United States into a renters’ economy so they can have more money, and send jobs overseas to places with less strict labor laws so they can have more money.

Do not be fooled, help our neighbors and friends who need it most. Do not be deceived into thinking that they are your enemy.