DISPLACEMENT

PLACE OF BIRTH IS NOT A CHOICE

Immigrants in the United States are currently living in daily fear of deportation. Hopes of asylum are nil. Returning to their counties is untenable for a variety of reasons.

Has America’s foreign policy from the Cold War era backfired? During the Cold War decades, the CIA provided support to the military dictators of Chile, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua with the intent of stopping the spread of
communism to the Western hemisphere. The United States trained and equipped brutal, state-sponsored terrorism. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Central and South Americans have sought refuge in the United States.

Jonathan Blitzer, in Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here, narrates the struggles of men, wwomen, and children of Central and South America who have immigrated to the U.S. ironically to escape U.S. supported massacre, torture, and poverty in their own
countries.

In September 2025, the Department of Homeland Security ended temporary protections for more than 50,000 Central Americans who have been living in the U.S. for decades. These immigrants have become nurses, mechanics, sanitation workers and executives. They’ve fallen in love, bought houses and raised children. They’ve opened restaurants and construction companies, paid taxes and contributed to Social Security, while living and working legally in the United States. The vast majority of these people have no criminal history.

As of July 11, 2025, immigrants wishing to send money to families and friends back home, must pay a one percent tax. They must pay $100 initially to apply for asylum, and an another $100 annually while they wait to see if they will be granted asylum. If asylum is rejected, they have to pay an additional $800 to appeal. Currently, asylum claims are generally rejected. Trump has fired more than 80 immigration judges he takes issue with.