Living in Solidarity with Our Family and Neighbors—By Carrying a Copy of Your Passport
ICE is beginning the round-up of possible “illegal” aliens who have entered our country without the required documentation.
How are they searching for these individuals who are going about their lives, shopping in grocery stores, working, and taking their kids to the park? They’re targeting non-white individuals, including a Puerto Rican veteran. (Individuals from Puerto Rico are US citizens).
He asked ICE what documentation they were looking for, and they said it was a license or a passport. I thought, who walks around with a passport?
Maybe we should all carry a copy of our passport with us?
To feel just a little of what it is now like to be a person of color, a non-white person, in the US. Carrying a copy of your passport can help you also carry just a little of this burden. To empathize with what this is like for perhaps your:
§ Co-workers
§ Employer
§ Doctor
§ Minister
§ Fellow churchgoers
§ Neighbor
§ Spouse / partner
§ Children/ grandchildren/ nieces/ nephews / cousins / aunts/ uncles/ grandparents who you care about who are people of color due to:
o their genetics,
o being the product of a mixed-race marriage,
o adoption from another country,
o or being a foster child
§ Friends
§ Classmates
§ Teacher
§ Grocery owner
§ Check-out cashier
§ Nail technician
§ Barrister
… who may not be white and are thus subject to arrest if they cannot prove, on the spot, that they are not an illegal alien, just like the veteran yesterday.
Use your resilience to take this small private action
I invite you to do an experiment that no one else needs to know about except you! Make a copy of your passport and place it in your wallet.
Being in solidarity with others by carrying a new piece of paper can create an openness in you, encouraging you to experience how another feels, in this case, how fearful it is for those who may look different from you to be who they are in this changed America.
You may stumble upon a copy of your passport while searching for your credit card or cash. At this moment, your experiment may remind you of the fear that is now being instilled in so many of our fellow Americans, including those you directly care about.
And if this feels like a burden to you, imagine what it would be like if this piece of paper determines if you are arrested, or not.
Empathy can empower you to take action
This is a moment where you can ask yourself if this is the America you want.
And if it isn’t, this insight may inspire you to inform your elected officials that this is not why you voted for them!
And stay tuned. If you’re interested in my clinical work, visit me on Psychology Today.
Patricia O’Gorman, Ph.D. psychologist and life coach, is the best-selling author of nine books on trauma, resilience, women, and self-parenting. She is also known for her warm and funny presentations.
Mayor accuses ICE of detaining vet, U.S. citizens in N.J immigration raid.