6 ms·

Well, immigrants are not immigrating because they are delusional. Life in United States is really, objectively better to the extent that they will risk their li

• hulitu 4y ago
  They believe that "Life in United States is really, objectively better". When they get face to face with the reality is too late to go back.
  • deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  • seibelj 4y ago
    Being a poor immigrant in the USA is far, far superior to being poor in many Latin American countries such as Venezuela, Honduras, and Guatemala. Only an extremely naïve and privileged person would even pretend that isn't the case.
    • fleetwoodsnack 4y ago
      Not quite. I work in immigration law pro bono and this perspective is outdated (though largely accurate of the 20th century, for what it’s worth). The lack of social safety net, decline of publicly accessible assistance in healthcare and education, and the unpredictability of immigration enforcement has led to an increase in emigrants from the United States back to Latin America and Asia. To give a personal anecdote: I was helping a woman apply for advanced parole, which is an immigration action that allows for someone who entered the United States illegally to re-enter in the future, provided certain qualifications were met. In the irony of ironies, she had spent the last several years saving enough money to go back home (and to pay her respects to one of her parents who had just passed), and wanted to preserve the option of coming back the the United States, if possible. After reviewing the details of her immigration history, I advised her that she was unlikely to be granted this parole, and that if she left she would be unlikely to be allowed to re-enter. My translation of her Spanish is poor, but the essence was, “If I’m going to struggle, I want to do it where I have friends and family whom I can help, and who can help me. There is no help here.” She left without parole, effectively banning herself from the United States, and based on the message she sent me the following Easter, it seems to be without regret. To borrow your words, I think “[o]nly an extremely naive and privileged person would even pretend” that poverty in the United States has a superior character to poverty elsewhere.
      • atemerev 4y ago
        But that's not because of the "poverty is worse", this is because of harsh anti-immigration laws. And yes, of course, leaving friends and family completely is not an option for many.
        • fleetwoodsnack 4y ago
          > But that's not because of the "poverty is worse" You seem to have quoted someone somewhere concerning “poverty is worse.” I’m not finding it in my text. Did you mean to reply elsewhere?
  • slothtrop 4y ago
    They can always go back. It's not the better choice.
• psi75 4y ago
  They're immigrating from countries whose victimization by capitalism is complete to one that still has a (shrinking, per Davos protocol) middle class. Life under 21st-century American capitalism is bad, but it's even worse outside of the imperial core. Two things can both be true.
  • rayiner 4y ago
    I assume you're speaking from first hand experience as someone from one of those "outside of the imperial core" countries?