I love immigrants and I love Los Angeles for loving immigrants.

I love immigrants. I love immigrants and I don’t care about what pieces of paper that the government gave or did not give to us.

The only documents I’m coming for is the US’ extremely well-documented history of imperial terror, either directly taking advantage of people in other countries by deploying military, or by sending aid to repressive governments abroad that aim to siphon wealth and wellbeing out of their own people for monetary gain.

Then when people leave their countries of origin, because they think that they might have more choices here in the US or elsewhere, they are demonized and punished by the US. Everyone is punished by the US. Why would you punish others too?

People want to say ‘don’t get political’ but these are just our truths and our lives, not talking points. People want to say that especially when you rely on social media for clientele, and those people are wrong for that.

I love immigrants. I don’t care if immigrants are hard working or not, because I think every immigrant has a justified right to hate their job in this country (who is able to pay their bills with their job right now? anyone out here able to buy a house?). Right wing media loves to talk about immigrants taking resources from others. The only drain on our resources is the $800 billion dollar budget that the US uses for its military, against its own people. On top of the National Guard, 700 Marines were deployed in LA to squash any public resistance.

I love immigrants. I’m Filipino, I was born in the Philippines. Immigrants are my people.

ICE is out here in LA doing raids, kidnapping people then torturing them in detention centers. Libraries run by family friends are shutting down their programming for the week just because ICE pulled up into the parking lot. They’re scary. They’re terrorizing people.

High school graduations are being raided, graduates are having their family members who are cheering them on absolutely stolen from them. Young kids are afraid to walk home from school.

Spectators are putting moral limits to the actions of victims: saying we must “peacefully” protest. What actually needs to happen is to put moral limits on the actions of those committing the reprehensible terrors, which is to say, stop ICE from existing completely, for starters.

Spectators are not often enough saying or doing anything to prevent people from being stolen, or doing anything to care for people who are left without their parent, their kuya, their friend. They just want to cry over broken glass. Don’t be a spectator.

What actually needs to happen and what actually prevents people from being kidnapped is for masses of people to be disruptive.

If people “peacefully” protest, then the state has absolutely zero incentive to stop kidnapping people. And they will fire on “peaceful” protestors anyway. This has been the case through every single movement of the people throughout this country’s history. People who are seen as “violent” in the streets will pour their heart out and risk everything to see peacefulness in their daily life, in their neighbors’ daily life.

Resistance is necessary.

Originally posted on Substack June 10, 2025