If you are a natural-born US citizen, please, PLEASE read this. Our immigration system is unjust and impossible to navigate. It is Byzantine and cruel because of a combination of bigotry, neglect, and parasitic opportunists.
The next time you hear “why don’t they come here legally?” remember that it’s nearly impossible for most people to do that.
Having been through the US immigration process (I got my first work visa more than 25 years ago and became a citizen in 2022), it's obvious to me that Americans have *no idea* how weird and tortuous their immigration system is:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/doctorow/52177745821/
--
If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
https://pluralistic.net/2026/02/06/doge-ball/#n-600
1/
