Who's really being removed by ICE tonight? The child who would've discovered the cure for cancer in 2046? The 9th grade nerd who would’ve stopped that Astroid that’s gonna hit us in 2032? Do we care?
And then there is my sister Salameia Katz. Her father tried to immigrate to the USA with her in 1938-1941 but they were Polish Jews and the racists in Congress had made laws making their legal entry impossible. Well, the Nazis shot Salameia point blank when she was 8 years old in 1941. Her father (who was also my father) survived because he was drafted into the Red Army with which he fought all the way to Berlin. After the war he still wanted out of Poland and through a very lengthy complex process that took several years got to the USA in 1948 on a temporary visa. He couldn't get a permanent visa-- the racists were still in charge!
So, he finagled! He went to Haiti, became a Haitian citizen the next day, and as a Haitian citizen came back to the USA a few days later on a permanent visa. (This was possible because in those days very few Haitian people were interested in coming to the USA-- not surprising given the insane level of anti-black racism here.) He became a citizen and had me (my mom helped a lot with that bit!).
And here I am, son of a Haitian immigrant. I'm nearing retirement but I've had a productive life, co-invented something called CodeLab that helped hundreds of thousands of students learn programming. But that is no reason for letting me stay or letting my father stay. Who knows what Salameia would have been or contributed? But that doesn't matter.
What matters is that we are people. That's all. Steve Jobs' father, Joan Baez's father, my father, my murdedred sister: they were human beings.
Human beings, just like the Haitian migrants who have had their TPS taken away and will be expelled by August. (Maybe the fascists would like to expel me too? I bet they would!)
Human beings, just like the children, women, and men being imprisoned in Guantanamo. (Once you had to help blowing up buildings to get a "room" there-- now you just have to be born in the wrong place. Like Salameia Katz.)
Human beings, just like some of my students, who take my CS course under who knows what duress in the hope that this madness will pass.
Michael, you wrote a beautiful column. I thank you. I look forward to the day when the capitalist system is destroyed EVERYWHERE, where there are no borders, where workers are truly free, and nationalism and racism are dead.
Wow. Very powerful story. I wish you and I would have gotten to know your sister. Whether she made a contribution to technology or not she deserved to live.
Thank you for reminding us that Trump isn't the first American to spread hate for immigrants. USA has a pretty sketchy history there no matter what that tall woman statue gifted to us from France says on her plaque.
They're scapegoating immigrants so you won't blame the real criminals--our elected representatives. Go to my Substack for a free digital copy of my book: The Illusion of Justice. It contains documented proof the leaders of the Republican and Democratic parties have been conspiring together to pack the courts with corrupt judges who will never side the American people. It contains documented proof of treason.
The problem is that word of mouth is the only way the public is ever going to find out that their representatives have sold them out. When you put proof of treason through the corporate owned media filter, it comes out dedicated public servants.
If you want to stop the corruption, demand their resignations for flagrantly violating their oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Me too - I pray you live to see thst day. I am 82 and seeing this all my life. We arrogantly thought we msde a difference in the 60s - very wrong thinking.
Oh, I'm only 68, but you and others did make a difference in the 60s. It's the damn govt that is letting all that work get destroyed. I think Framers assumed the representatives would be honerable people. Instead, we handed the reigns to a bunch of hatred-filled insane morons.
Hmm. I've been told story after story of 60s hippies, left-wingers, who ended up making lots of money and then turning capitalist with a serious lack of empathy. Yet another reason to get rid of Capitalism.
Well, everyone has to eventually reconcile their ideals with reality imho. in this current setup, having money gives you the ability to do stuff. I'm sure that some who grew up then and earned wealth still retained empathy for those with less and tried to support them. I picture Jane Fonda for example. I think she has fought the good fight. But yes, I'm sure others got theirs and left all empathy behind.
Very sad story. But powerful truth. Rump and his minions are trying to villainize and destroy anything that is not the right skin color or gender. What they are doing to immigrants, they are also doing to LGBTQ and people of color. History will judge them harshly.
Perfectly put, we are reaping the Yuge benefits bestowed on us by our immigrant brothers & sisters, thanx for coming! & Welcome! Is what we should be saying
I love you, Michael; I love your heart ❤️ (and not only because we share the same last name🙂). You have written the story of America so beautifully - the story of my British and Polish great-grandparents…the story of Me….Carol Moore
Hello Michael, horribly true story. I fled the State of Maine last Summer, no matter, target on my back so big and getting bigger. MAGA sucks!! I personally am ready to fight....so done!!
Maine was My mothers home state after leaving New Brunswick and Prince Edward Islands where she was born. She was sent to Boston by the Catholic church to attend secretarial school where she met my dad who was attending Bostons school of art.
They had 4 kids and I their 1st daughter. She absolutely refused to take part in American politics, forbid my dad from ranting about Nixon, BB, Kissinger etc or News on during dinner. We watched All in the Family and my dad's nick name was Archie.
My mother never registered to vote, never voted, especially after Kennedys assassination and Marilyn's murder. She was pissed. She filled out her green card every year. I remember walking it to the post office with her.
My mom outlived my dad by 2 years and died a proud French Canadian. I'm not in Canada...yet.
I was born in Orlando FL - a Navy brat - but my younger sister was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. I've often thought she should see about claiming dual citizenship - even more so now.
A wonderful story. Most of us don’t have to look too far up our family trees to find our own immigrant stories. My grandparents fled eastern Europe, and constantly told me that we lived in the best country in the world. They would be heartbroken to see the country that gave them a new life treating immigrants as we do. It is shameful and unAmerican.
100pct. My dad, son of Italian immigrants, fought in WW2 pacific arena. He's rolling over in his grave as this effing traitorous rump fascist supporting our enemies against our allies. It is really treason.
Cathlynn - every single one of us who is not indigenous, - native to this country, which is called Turtle Island by those who are - is an immigrant. As far as I'm concerned we should deport Musk and slap the 25th on Trump, who needs to go live with Papa Putin anyway.
Racism is ugly and leads to nothing but chaos. I am an immigrant, a proud one that has contributed to the advancement of artificial intelligence technology in this country. Am I unique? No. Many have embraced this country as our own and proudly serve from all our hearts for the greater good of this nation. Our president is racist and continues to fuel racism at all levels. God help the US get rid of him soon. 4 years if hell and the damage he will cause to this nation will take us decades to recover and heal.
"Dozens of mostly Asian migrants were put on a deportation flight from San Antonio on Tuesday. But instead of landing near their home countries, the migrants eventually arrived in the Costa Rican capital of San José, where they were then shuttled off to the southern part of the country to await their fates...."
What a powerful statement about the ignorance that is fueling this xenophobic movement that is now at the helm of the Federal Government....that you, Michael Moore!!
And my great-grandfather, who sailed out of Germany ahead of the cops equipped with a trunk full of hard sausage, and landed in Jay Gould’s Texas. He hiked to Cincinnati, speaking only German and French. He taught himself English and Esperanto at the Cincinnati Public Library - God bless libraries! - and was a life-long Socialist.
You’re a star Michael and I love your columns. Sadly, the “other side” have all the same stories and use them to defend forced birth. This gnarly argument goes nowhere. Wouldn’t it be a dream for the pope to come out now and say that a few cells are not people. And real babies who are born are people?
And then there is my sister Salameia Katz. Her father tried to immigrate to the USA with her in 1938-1941 but they were Polish Jews and the racists in Congress had made laws making their legal entry impossible. Well, the Nazis shot Salameia point blank when she was 8 years old in 1941. Her father (who was also my father) survived because he was drafted into the Red Army with which he fought all the way to Berlin. After the war he still wanted out of Poland and through a very lengthy complex process that took several years got to the USA in 1948 on a temporary visa. He couldn't get a permanent visa-- the racists were still in charge!
So, he finagled! He went to Haiti, became a Haitian citizen the next day, and as a Haitian citizen came back to the USA a few days later on a permanent visa. (This was possible because in those days very few Haitian people were interested in coming to the USA-- not surprising given the insane level of anti-black racism here.) He became a citizen and had me (my mom helped a lot with that bit!).
And here I am, son of a Haitian immigrant. I'm nearing retirement but I've had a productive life, co-invented something called CodeLab that helped hundreds of thousands of students learn programming. But that is no reason for letting me stay or letting my father stay. Who knows what Salameia would have been or contributed? But that doesn't matter.
What matters is that we are people. That's all. Steve Jobs' father, Joan Baez's father, my father, my murdedred sister: they were human beings.
Human beings, just like the Haitian migrants who have had their TPS taken away and will be expelled by August. (Maybe the fascists would like to expel me too? I bet they would!)
Human beings, just like the children, women, and men being imprisoned in Guantanamo. (Once you had to help blowing up buildings to get a "room" there-- now you just have to be born in the wrong place. Like Salameia Katz.)
Human beings, just like some of my students, who take my CS course under who knows what duress in the hope that this madness will pass.
Michael, you wrote a beautiful column. I thank you. I look forward to the day when the capitalist system is destroyed EVERYWHERE, where there are no borders, where workers are truly free, and nationalism and racism are dead.
Wow. Very powerful story. I wish you and I would have gotten to know your sister. Whether she made a contribution to technology or not she deserved to live.
Thank you for reminding us that Trump isn't the first American to spread hate for immigrants. USA has a pretty sketchy history there no matter what that tall woman statue gifted to us from France says on her plaque.
They're scapegoating immigrants so you won't blame the real criminals--our elected representatives. Go to my Substack for a free digital copy of my book: The Illusion of Justice. It contains documented proof the leaders of the Republican and Democratic parties have been conspiring together to pack the courts with corrupt judges who will never side the American people. It contains documented proof of treason.
The problem is that word of mouth is the only way the public is ever going to find out that their representatives have sold them out. When you put proof of treason through the corporate owned media filter, it comes out dedicated public servants.
If you want to stop the corruption, demand their resignations for flagrantly violating their oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Me too - I pray you live to see thst day. I am 82 and seeing this all my life. We arrogantly thought we msde a difference in the 60s - very wrong thinking.
Oh, I'm only 68, but you and others did make a difference in the 60s. It's the damn govt that is letting all that work get destroyed. I think Framers assumed the representatives would be honerable people. Instead, we handed the reigns to a bunch of hatred-filled insane morons.
Hmm. I've been told story after story of 60s hippies, left-wingers, who ended up making lots of money and then turning capitalist with a serious lack of empathy. Yet another reason to get rid of Capitalism.
Well, everyone has to eventually reconcile their ideals with reality imho. in this current setup, having money gives you the ability to do stuff. I'm sure that some who grew up then and earned wealth still retained empathy for those with less and tried to support them. I picture Jane Fonda for example. I think she has fought the good fight. But yes, I'm sure others got theirs and left all empathy behind.
Jane Fonda's speech at the SAG-AFTRA awards ceremony was just incredible. Agreed! Down with Capitalism and Generalizations!
Very sad story. But powerful truth. Rump and his minions are trying to villainize and destroy anything that is not the right skin color or gender. What they are doing to immigrants, they are also doing to LGBTQ and people of color. History will judge them harshly.
What a powerful amazing comment. Thank you!
And may Salameia and all other children murdered by thugs rest in peace.
Your story brought tears to my eyes. Be well, be strong, be with us.
My heart aches. Michael has given voice to it. Thank you.
Perfectly put, we are reaping the Yuge benefits bestowed on us by our immigrant brothers & sisters, thanx for coming! & Welcome! Is what we should be saying
One more morning with tears in my coffee. Thank you, Michael.
I’m right there with you , James. My tears and all…
I love you, Michael; I love your heart ❤️ (and not only because we share the same last name🙂). You have written the story of America so beautifully - the story of my British and Polish great-grandparents…the story of Me….Carol Moore
Hello Michael, horribly true story. I fled the State of Maine last Summer, no matter, target on my back so big and getting bigger. MAGA sucks!! I personally am ready to fight....so done!!
Maine was My mothers home state after leaving New Brunswick and Prince Edward Islands where she was born. She was sent to Boston by the Catholic church to attend secretarial school where she met my dad who was attending Bostons school of art.
They had 4 kids and I their 1st daughter. She absolutely refused to take part in American politics, forbid my dad from ranting about Nixon, BB, Kissinger etc or News on during dinner. We watched All in the Family and my dad's nick name was Archie.
My mother never registered to vote, never voted, especially after Kennedys assassination and Marilyn's murder. She was pissed. She filled out her green card every year. I remember walking it to the post office with her.
My mom outlived my dad by 2 years and died a proud French Canadian. I'm not in Canada...yet.
I was born in Orlando FL - a Navy brat - but my younger sister was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. I've often thought she should see about claiming dual citizenship - even more so now.
A wonderful story. Most of us don’t have to look too far up our family trees to find our own immigrant stories. My grandparents fled eastern Europe, and constantly told me that we lived in the best country in the world. They would be heartbroken to see the country that gave them a new life treating immigrants as we do. It is shameful and unAmerican.
100pct. My dad, son of Italian immigrants, fought in WW2 pacific arena. He's rolling over in his grave as this effing traitorous rump fascist supporting our enemies against our allies. It is really treason.
Cathlynn - every single one of us who is not indigenous, - native to this country, which is called Turtle Island by those who are - is an immigrant. As far as I'm concerned we should deport Musk and slap the 25th on Trump, who needs to go live with Papa Putin anyway.
Racism is ugly and leads to nothing but chaos. I am an immigrant, a proud one that has contributed to the advancement of artificial intelligence technology in this country. Am I unique? No. Many have embraced this country as our own and proudly serve from all our hearts for the greater good of this nation. Our president is racist and continues to fuel racism at all levels. God help the US get rid of him soon. 4 years if hell and the damage he will cause to this nation will take us decades to recover and heal.
ICE has become institutionalised domestic terrorism. My heart aches for all the people that are now terrorized by their own government.
How long has President Elonicus Prime lived in this country? Doesn’t matter at all.
Surely he has America’s best interest at heart.
Such a National Treasure he is.
Stay tuned to FOX History channel for the exciting conclusion.
Fade to commercial.
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.
Has America's Fuhrer found the final solution to Make his Brave New World great again?
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/us-deportations-asian-migrants-central-america-why-rcna193152
"Dozens of mostly Asian migrants were put on a deportation flight from San Antonio on Tuesday. But instead of landing near their home countries, the migrants eventually arrived in the Costa Rican capital of San José, where they were then shuttled off to the southern part of the country to await their fates...."
What a powerful statement about the ignorance that is fueling this xenophobic movement that is now at the helm of the Federal Government....that you, Michael Moore!!
And my great-grandfather, who sailed out of Germany ahead of the cops equipped with a trunk full of hard sausage, and landed in Jay Gould’s Texas. He hiked to Cincinnati, speaking only German and French. He taught himself English and Esperanto at the Cincinnati Public Library - God bless libraries! - and was a life-long Socialist.
May I add my son's wife, recently sworn in as an American citizen and their beautiful baby girl born one week ago in Wisconsin.
Thank you, Michael. Your "voice" is so so important - the depth of understanding continues.
You’re a star Michael and I love your columns. Sadly, the “other side” have all the same stories and use them to defend forced birth. This gnarly argument goes nowhere. Wouldn’t it be a dream for the pope to come out now and say that a few cells are not people. And real babies who are born are people?
Masterful, Michael. Thank you.