WEBVTT - Refugee Mutual Aid in Washington DC 0:00:04.880 --> 0:00:07.080 Welcome to It could happen here, the podcast about the 0:00:07.080 --> 0:00:08.840 world falling apart and how we can put it back 0:00:08.880 --> 0:00:13.120 together again. I'm your host, Christopher Wong. Now. Three months 0:00:13.119 --> 0:00:15.280 ago we covered Great Abbot's attempt to shut down the 0:00:15.320 --> 0:00:17.440 border and how he was forced basically to back down 0:00:17.440 --> 0:00:20.599 by a Mexican trucker strike. And in that episode we 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:23.400 mentioned that Abbot's newest stunt was deporting people from Texas 0:00:23.400 --> 0:00:25.600 to Washington, d C. To make Biden look bad by 0:00:25.760 --> 0:00:29.440 you know, moving the problem to him. And as a 0:00:29.440 --> 0:00:32.839 political stunt, this has largely failed as a humanitarian disaster, 0:00:32.920 --> 0:00:35.680 inflicting untold human misery on completely innocent people. It is 0:00:35.680 --> 0:00:39.280 still continuing to unfold. And here today to talk about 0:00:39.320 --> 0:00:42.839 this with us is Amy Fisher with Sanctuary d m 0:00:42.880 --> 0:00:45.720 V and the Migrants Solidarity Mutual Aid Network. Amy, thank 0:00:45.760 --> 0:00:48.400 you for joining us, and welcome to the show. Thank 0:00:48.400 --> 0:00:53.159 you so much for having me so excited to be here. Yeah, um, 0:00:53.159 --> 0:00:58.880 somewhat less excited that this is happening because dear God. Yeah, So, 0:00:58.960 --> 0:01:01.320 I guess to start off, do you want to tell 0:01:01.400 --> 0:01:04.880 us a bit about what's been I guess how this 0:01:05.000 --> 0:01:07.560 started in what the sort of initial reaction and non 0:01:07.720 --> 0:01:13.039 reaction of the d C government has been sure so UM. 0:01:13.080 --> 0:01:18.760 In April, Governor Abbotts started bussing people from the border 0:01:19.120 --> 0:01:23.440 to d C. UM. We knew from the get go 0:01:23.760 --> 0:01:29.119 that this was a racist publicity stunt, um, particularly because 0:01:29.200 --> 0:01:31.400 the first few busses were dropped off right in front 0:01:31.440 --> 0:01:36.560 of the Fox News building. UM, and we all initially 0:01:36.640 --> 0:01:41.760 thought it was going to be a few weeks of 0:01:42.040 --> 0:01:46.760 bussing people. And here we are, um in the middle 0:01:46.800 --> 0:01:51.880 of July, and the buses have kept coming. Um. Buses 0:01:52.000 --> 0:01:56.360 arrive to d C basically every single day of the 0:01:56.360 --> 0:02:01.880 week except for UM Monday evening and Tuesday mornings, and 0:02:02.320 --> 0:02:08.600 there have been probably around thirty people bussed from Texas 0:02:08.760 --> 0:02:15.560 to d C. And uh, not too long after, Governor 0:02:15.680 --> 0:02:19.720 Juicy of Arizona started doing the same thing and bussing 0:02:19.800 --> 0:02:24.600 people from the Arizona border to d C. And the 0:02:24.680 --> 0:02:29.680 d C government has basically been unwilling to grapple with 0:02:29.840 --> 0:02:35.160 the reality of what's happening. You know, people are arriving 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:40.000 to d C with very very little resources, typically like 0:02:40.120 --> 0:02:42.320 the clothes on their back. Sometimes they don't even have 0:02:42.400 --> 0:02:44.560 shoes on their feet. When they get off the buses, 0:02:44.800 --> 0:02:49.600 and it's been, um kind of amazing to see the 0:02:49.639 --> 0:02:52.560 way that the d C community has responded. It's been 0:02:53.520 --> 0:02:58.240 like the type of response that makes me remarkably proud 0:02:58.919 --> 0:03:01.880 of being a DC resident and being from the area. 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:07.560 And also, um, it's something that the DC government is 0:03:08.360 --> 0:03:14.359 turning in a blind eye to UM and pretending like, um, 0:03:14.880 --> 0:03:17.520 the reality that we are seeing when we are talking 0:03:17.560 --> 0:03:19.680 to people that are getting off the buses day in 0:03:19.680 --> 0:03:23.080 and day out, it's just it's like entirely different from 0:03:23.160 --> 0:03:29.120 what you know, the DC mayor is saying about the situation. Yeah, 0:03:29.240 --> 0:03:31.680 and I guess, well, okay, so before we talk, I 0:03:31.720 --> 0:03:38.520 guess fully about the DC governments just catastrophic. I don't 0:03:38.520 --> 0:03:40.240 even want to know if I want to say incompetence 0:03:40.280 --> 0:03:43.920 so much is just like we'll just let these people suffer. Um. 0:03:43.960 --> 0:03:45.880 Can we talk a bit about what what what the 0:03:45.880 --> 0:03:49.160 community responses look like and what y'all have been doing. Sure, 0:03:49.280 --> 0:03:51.440 so maybe to back up a little bit to to 0:03:51.560 --> 0:03:55.360 tell you about sort of like what the experiences of 0:03:55.440 --> 0:03:57.480 the people that are getting off the buses. These are 0:03:57.520 --> 0:04:01.600 people that are typically UM coming to the United States 0:04:01.880 --> 0:04:05.960 to seek asylum. They're being processed at the border for 0:04:06.040 --> 0:04:09.240 a few days. And I think what like have been 0:04:09.280 --> 0:04:13.240 commonly started to be referred to as like the Pereiras 0:04:13.280 --> 0:04:16.040 and jeleras at the border, so like the dog kennels, 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:18.080 the ice boxes and the at the border and that 0:04:18.120 --> 0:04:24.200 are being paroled into the country and um, so the 0:04:24.240 --> 0:04:29.120 Customs and Border Protections CBP is releasing these folks to 0:04:29.960 --> 0:04:33.920 um like respite centers type of places at the border. 0:04:34.160 --> 0:04:37.680 UM in Texas. Most of the folks are coming from 0:04:37.839 --> 0:04:43.200 Del Rio and Eagle Path UM and then they're being 0:04:43.279 --> 0:04:45.960 told that there's these free busses to d C. And 0:04:46.000 --> 0:04:48.880 it's it's a little bit mind boggling because we know 0:04:49.120 --> 0:04:55.240 that Governor Abbott is doing these bus this bussing purely 0:04:55.400 --> 0:05:01.040 out of the most like racist xenophobic in pensions. And 0:05:01.160 --> 0:05:04.320 also for many of the folks, it's a free bus 0:05:04.360 --> 0:05:07.880 to to get to where they're trying to go. And 0:05:07.920 --> 0:05:10.640 so people are riding on the buses arriving in d 0:05:10.760 --> 0:05:17.880 C and then you know many of them are trying 0:05:17.920 --> 0:05:21.960 to get to other places along the east coast UM 0:05:22.000 --> 0:05:27.120 and many are planning on staying in d C. UM. 0:05:27.720 --> 0:05:34.120 And so what has happened is we've um developed a 0:05:34.160 --> 0:05:38.479 massive mutual aid response, which has been super cool. So, 0:05:39.120 --> 0:05:43.760 you know, we have a crew of volunteers that meet 0:05:43.880 --> 0:05:48.320 the buses when they arrive UM at Union Station. And 0:05:48.520 --> 0:05:51.320 if you're not familiar with d C, Union Station is 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:54.200 sort of the big transit center and in the middle 0:05:54.240 --> 0:05:58.080 of d C UM actually relatively close to where the 0:05:58.200 --> 0:06:01.960 capital is. UM. It's sort of like the DC equivalent 0:06:02.080 --> 0:06:05.320 of like Penn Station in New York or something like that. UM. 0:06:05.360 --> 0:06:08.039 And so they're dropped off in front of Union Station. 0:06:08.440 --> 0:06:13.520 We have folks that will welcome them and UM typically 0:06:13.600 --> 0:06:17.960 we bring to folks to uh different churches around the 0:06:18.000 --> 0:06:21.000 area that have opened up their spaces as respite centers 0:06:21.040 --> 0:06:25.000 for us, and we uh you know, sit down with folks, 0:06:25.040 --> 0:06:28.880 We offer them some food and really try and talk 0:06:28.960 --> 0:06:32.000 through what their needs are and help them as best 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:35.440 as we can meet those needs, whether it is you know, 0:06:35.720 --> 0:06:41.200 folks may have UM medical or like trauma that they 0:06:41.240 --> 0:06:45.040 need to work through. UM. Maybe they're trying to get 0:06:45.080 --> 0:06:47.680 to New York, and so we'll help them, you know, 0:06:47.760 --> 0:06:50.320 communicate with family members or help them find their way 0:06:50.360 --> 0:06:53.480 to New York. We you know, for the folks that 0:06:53.520 --> 0:06:57.800 are staying in DC, we've done our best to help them, 0:06:57.839 --> 0:07:00.400 you know, find a way to kind of get settled 0:07:00.400 --> 0:07:02.720 and put down roots in their new community, getting them 0:07:02.720 --> 0:07:08.320 connected to community members that help them you know, navigate DC, 0:07:08.720 --> 0:07:11.320 teach them how to use the metro, help them get 0:07:11.360 --> 0:07:14.520 to their you know, check in appointments as they're you know, 0:07:14.640 --> 0:07:17.239 having to jump through all of the hoops of ice 0:07:17.360 --> 0:07:21.920 and being surveilled by the state, and and helping them 0:07:22.440 --> 0:07:26.119 you know, have access to lawyers to explain their legal 0:07:26.160 --> 0:07:28.920 process and really just kind of like I don't know, 0:07:29.200 --> 0:07:32.960 I took a dude to to Target to be to 0:07:33.120 --> 0:07:36.560 like help them get go shopping, and you know, took 0:07:36.600 --> 0:07:40.960 folks to get uh, just like the random stuff that 0:07:41.000 --> 0:07:43.720 people need when they arrive in a new place in 0:07:43.760 --> 0:07:46.040 the same way that like, I don't know, if I 0:07:46.040 --> 0:07:48.360 had a friend moving to d C, I would be like, hey, 0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:50.080 what do you need? Like how can I help you 0:07:50.120 --> 0:07:52.600 get to know this place? Like this is how our 0:07:52.640 --> 0:07:57.040 bike share program works, Like just the most basic welcome 0:07:57.360 --> 0:08:01.040 get settled. Can we tell a little bit more about 0:08:01.120 --> 0:08:03.280 what the sort of legal process looks like here and 0:08:03.280 --> 0:08:05.200 what like, for example, like explained what check ins are 0:08:05.320 --> 0:08:11.880 and yeah, so um, the folks that are arriving are 0:08:11.920 --> 0:08:16.640 being parolled in UM and so basically what it means 0:08:17.080 --> 0:08:21.720 is that they are then under surveillance from the federal 0:08:21.840 --> 0:08:27.200 government UM from ICE, which is Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 0:08:27.960 --> 0:08:31.160 And what that looks like is a little bit of 0:08:31.160 --> 0:08:35.960 a crapshoot. UM. So many many of the folks are 0:08:36.120 --> 0:08:39.360 UM at the border given cell phones UM that have 0:08:39.760 --> 0:08:44.680 tracking on them, and so with that cell phone, they're 0:08:44.720 --> 0:08:47.160 being tracked by the government. They basically have to take 0:08:47.280 --> 0:08:51.760 like selfies ever so often to UM check in and 0:08:51.800 --> 0:08:55.480 then they're basically being enrolled in this program called is APP, 0:08:55.559 --> 0:08:59.400 which is the I can't remember the acronym, it's it's 0:08:59.559 --> 0:09:03.679 UM a supervision program. And so they have to go 0:09:03.840 --> 0:09:07.200 to an ICE office once they arrive in whatever city 0:09:07.200 --> 0:09:11.360 that they're arriving to UM. Oftentimes they're being asked to 0:09:11.440 --> 0:09:14.319 turn in the ICE the ICE cell phones and having 0:09:14.320 --> 0:09:17.320 to download an app on their cell phones. If they 0:09:17.320 --> 0:09:19.719 don't have a cell phone, they might be given an 0:09:19.720 --> 0:09:22.800 ankle monitor or what many of the Spanish speakers called 0:09:22.880 --> 0:09:25.800 like a great They be basically like an ankle shackle 0:09:26.600 --> 0:09:32.920 UM for electronic monitoring. They'll have UM officers, you know, 0:09:33.000 --> 0:09:35.080 show up at their house, so sometimes they have to 0:09:35.200 --> 0:09:38.880 you know, be at home from seven am to seven 0:09:38.920 --> 0:09:42.160 pm so that you know, immigration come come by and 0:09:42.200 --> 0:09:46.679 make sure that they're like still there. And basically that 0:09:46.840 --> 0:09:51.000 part of the program is entirely so the government can 0:09:51.080 --> 0:09:53.719 keep a track of where these folks are. It has 0:09:53.880 --> 0:09:57.680 nothing to do with like the actual legal process that 0:09:57.760 --> 0:10:00.240 they are trying to go through to to be able 0:10:00.280 --> 0:10:03.880 to stay here permanently. So separate and apart from that, 0:10:04.000 --> 0:10:06.720 the vast majority of these folks are asylum seekers. And 0:10:06.760 --> 0:10:10.480 so what that means is that you know, once they're here, 0:10:10.520 --> 0:10:14.400 they have a year to apply for asylum and then 0:10:14.440 --> 0:10:19.120 they're thrust into the like totally broken asylum system that 0:10:19.240 --> 0:10:23.120 has you know, years long backlogs and things like that, 0:10:23.200 --> 0:10:25.640 and so then they'll be basically trying to find a 0:10:25.679 --> 0:10:30.360 way to um get an asylum grant to be able 0:10:30.480 --> 0:10:35.680 to stay here permanently while also navigating the surveillance that's 0:10:35.679 --> 0:10:41.040 happening on the ice side of things are so I know, 0:10:41.160 --> 0:10:44.720 something that happens with like I guess regular prison a 0:10:44.720 --> 0:10:46.760 lot are people being forced to pay for the ankle 0:10:46.800 --> 0:10:50.160 bracelets no thank god, okay, which is which is like 0:10:50.200 --> 0:10:55.719 something from their minimum but yeah, it's still Jesus. I mean, 0:10:55.800 --> 0:10:59.240 I will say that we've one of the issues that 0:10:59.280 --> 0:11:03.520 we have started, um sort of trying to figure out 0:11:03.600 --> 0:11:08.120 how to navigate, is that what we're seeing is people, 0:11:08.600 --> 0:11:10.800 you know, they get the ICE cell phones at the border, 0:11:10.960 --> 0:11:13.040 and then at their check in they're supposed to turn 0:11:13.120 --> 0:11:15.480 in the ICE cell phones and then download this at 0:11:15.480 --> 0:11:20.280 this surveillance app on their phone. Um, many folks don't 0:11:20.320 --> 0:11:23.280 have a cell phone, or the app only works if 0:11:23.320 --> 0:11:26.600 you have I think a five G phone, So you 0:11:26.920 --> 0:11:29.840 basically have to have like the fanciest of the phones, 0:11:30.080 --> 0:11:34.080 which if you're an asylum secret and you just risk 0:11:34.120 --> 0:11:37.320 it all to come here to seek safety and you 0:11:37.400 --> 0:11:41.120 don't really have a support in the US, and now 0:11:41.200 --> 0:11:43.760 you're being told that you have to have this super 0:11:43.760 --> 0:11:49.360 fancy phone or you get an inkle shackle. It's it's 0:11:49.400 --> 0:11:53.520 just kind of a ridiculous thing knowing that it's okay, 0:11:53.559 --> 0:11:56.400 maybe you're privileged enough to be able to be surveilled 0:11:56.400 --> 0:11:58.720 on your own personal cell phone, or you just have 0:11:58.800 --> 0:12:10.839 to have an inkle shackle at all times. So much 0:12:10.840 --> 0:12:13.480 of this process just like it really feels just like 0:12:13.520 --> 0:12:16.640 it's it's just it's surveillance, just sort of for the 0:12:16.640 --> 0:12:21.000 purpose of humiliation. It's surveillance for the purpose of humiliation. 0:12:21.280 --> 0:12:28.960 It's surveillance for the sake of some Um. This idea 0:12:29.280 --> 0:12:34.760 that we've been dealing with in the US since September eleven, 0:12:35.080 --> 0:12:41.839 that uh, immigration is a national security concern that you know, 0:12:42.080 --> 0:12:45.839 if if immigrants aren't being surveilled twenty four hours a day, 0:12:46.040 --> 0:12:49.560 then like, lord knows what they could do. Um. When 0:12:49.600 --> 0:12:51.679 the reality is is these are folks that are just 0:12:51.800 --> 0:12:57.640 like normal people trying to live their best lives. UM. 0:12:57.679 --> 0:13:00.720 And I also think how I think it's really important 0:13:00.760 --> 0:13:05.319 to say how much of this is also entirely based 0:13:05.520 --> 0:13:12.640 on government funding and availability that so oftentimes the decision 0:13:12.679 --> 0:13:16.160 as to what kind of surveillance you're under is based 0:13:16.240 --> 0:13:22.560 upon what is available, um, based on contracts with you know, 0:13:23.600 --> 0:13:26.400 private surveillance companies and private prison companies that have a 0:13:26.440 --> 0:13:35.080 surveillance arm and things like that. It's it's entirely profit driven. Yeah, definitely, definitely. Again, 0:13:35.080 --> 0:13:37.599 I keep thinking about prisons, it's just like, yeah, I 0:13:37.600 --> 0:13:40.760 mean literally literally the same companies doing this kind of stuff. 0:13:40.800 --> 0:13:44.320 And how Yeah, and like I think, I don't know, 0:13:44.679 --> 0:13:48.520 there's there's this kind of like I mean, I guess, people, 0:13:48.640 --> 0:13:50.880 it's just a prison industrial complex. But yeah, there's this 0:13:50.880 --> 0:13:54.960 whole there's a sort of like state private sector complex 0:13:54.960 --> 0:13:56.560 that both feed on each other, where you have these 0:13:56.559 --> 0:13:58.600 companies taking federal money to do stuff. You have these 0:13:58.640 --> 0:14:01.600 companies who are like have figured out ways to extract 0:14:02.320 --> 0:14:08.400 like money from the people that are surevailing. And I guess, okay, 0:14:08.679 --> 0:14:11.320 keep keeping on the thread of the state making people's 0:14:11.360 --> 0:14:18.320 lives miserable. Um, yeah, so Muriel Bowser not doing anything. Yeah, 0:14:18.360 --> 0:14:23.840 we're talking about that a bit. So Mariel Bowser's messaging 0:14:23.960 --> 0:14:27.160 that we have received has evolved a little bit here 0:14:27.200 --> 0:14:32.120 and there. So sometimes she says that the majority of 0:14:32.160 --> 0:14:34.880 people that are getting off the bus have everything they 0:14:34.920 --> 0:14:38.360 need and have family supporting them, and so there actually 0:14:38.440 --> 0:14:41.680 is no reason for the government to step forward because 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:46.160 these people already have all of their needs met, which 0:14:47.440 --> 0:14:53.360 I would say maybe one person or one family every 0:14:53.520 --> 0:14:56.640 every few days has someone that's you know, ready to 0:14:56.680 --> 0:14:58.520 meet them when they step off the bus, but the 0:14:58.600 --> 0:15:02.360 vast majority of people don't. And I would say that 0:15:02.520 --> 0:15:06.640 we're seeing an ever increasing amount of people that don't 0:15:06.680 --> 0:15:10.480 have anybody in the United States, and so they really 0:15:10.520 --> 0:15:13.440 are in need of a lot of supports to help 0:15:13.480 --> 0:15:19.360 them really figure out their way here because they don't 0:15:19.400 --> 0:15:23.560 have cousins or family friends or extended family, whatever it 0:15:23.600 --> 0:15:27.240 may be, to help them, you know, put down roots 0:15:27.240 --> 0:15:31.280 in the in their new communities. UM. And in recent 0:15:31.560 --> 0:15:36.080 weeks her messaging has shifted a little bit because there 0:15:36.200 --> 0:15:40.720 is actually a Spain based organization that got a grant 0:15:40.920 --> 0:15:46.320 from FEMA to support on the buses. UM And so 0:15:46.400 --> 0:15:52.400 now Bowser's response is this organization, SAMU has it, It's covered. 0:15:53.040 --> 0:15:57.440 There's there's no like refuse one refusing to even acknowledge 0:15:57.480 --> 0:16:00.080 the fact that the Mutual Aid Network has been and 0:16:00.200 --> 0:16:04.160 continues to do the vast majority of the welcoming of 0:16:04.200 --> 0:16:12.400 the folks that are arriving. And two once again refusing 0:16:12.400 --> 0:16:18.080 to acknowledge that there is any role that DC could 0:16:18.120 --> 0:16:24.640 be or should be playing here. Yeah, and it definite. 0:16:24.720 --> 0:16:28.400 It seems like I don't know. I mean, it's it's 0:16:28.720 --> 0:16:31.960 a kind of classic like State two steps, which was 0:16:31.960 --> 0:16:33.560 like yeah, on the one hand, it's like, okay, there's 0:16:33.560 --> 0:16:35.400 no problem. The second thing is we found an NGO 0:16:35.480 --> 0:16:38.640 we can sort of like pretend is doing the actual work. 0:16:39.600 --> 0:16:43.520 UM And I guess one of your things that that 0:16:43.600 --> 0:16:47.080 I saw from y'all recently was a bunch of people 0:16:47.120 --> 0:16:52.080 got exposed to COVID while doing this and there was like, basically, 0:16:52.080 --> 0:16:59.640 you guys did basically a work stoppage. So last week, UM, 0:16:59.760 --> 0:17:05.280 we basically hit a ball. UM. Many of our core 0:17:05.400 --> 0:17:11.560 organizers had been exposed to COVID. UM, we were running 0:17:11.560 --> 0:17:17.639 out of funds because this work is expensive, UM, and 0:17:18.920 --> 0:17:23.320 we had been doing this as volunteers around the clock, 0:17:23.600 --> 0:17:25.440 you know, twenty four hours a day, sevent days a 0:17:25.480 --> 0:17:31.040 week for months, and last week we kind of hit 0:17:31.040 --> 0:17:37.320 a wall. And UM told this NGO that is receiving 0:17:37.400 --> 0:17:41.840 female funding that UM, we needed to take a beat, 0:17:42.720 --> 0:17:48.119 UM and take two days where you know, folks kid 0:17:48.119 --> 0:17:50.399 get COVID tested and make sure they were in the 0:17:50.520 --> 0:17:54.720 clear to come back to work and rest and also 0:17:54.880 --> 0:17:59.280 spend time like we you know, call it a work stoppage. 0:17:59.280 --> 0:18:01.280 But we were all too working. We were all you know, 0:18:01.400 --> 0:18:04.359 having conversations as to how we make this work more sustainable, 0:18:04.880 --> 0:18:09.199 how we find you know, systems of support to to 0:18:09.400 --> 0:18:17.959 make this this welcome last And unfortunately that resulted in 0:18:18.240 --> 0:18:25.600 people basically getting stranded at Union station. UM. And when 0:18:25.920 --> 0:18:32.359 our folks were able to return to welcoming buses on um. 0:18:32.400 --> 0:18:34.680 You know. Later in the week they ended up with 0:18:34.760 --> 0:18:38.080 like I don't know, thirty additional people that had basically 0:18:38.119 --> 0:18:43.560 been sleeping at Union Station because this other NGO that 0:18:43.800 --> 0:18:47.159 you know is receiving federal funding to do the work 0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:50.639 that the mayor is saying has it and therefore she 0:18:50.680 --> 0:18:55.760 doesn't have to do anything didn't show up and and 0:18:56.000 --> 0:18:59.399 there were a handful of good Samaritans that like you know, 0:18:59.480 --> 0:19:01.399 would be at Union Station and see a bunch of 0:19:01.400 --> 0:19:03.920 folks and they you know, spoke different languages and would 0:19:03.920 --> 0:19:06.040 be able to support them kind of here and there. 0:19:07.080 --> 0:19:12.280 But it really showed how um. I think it really 0:19:12.320 --> 0:19:16.120 proved the work that the futual Aid Network had been 0:19:16.160 --> 0:19:18.520 holding and that you know, if we tried to take 0:19:18.560 --> 0:19:24.240 a step back, things things fall um and really showed 0:19:24.320 --> 0:19:30.320 how much we need others to step in because the 0:19:30.359 --> 0:19:34.840 work that we've been holding has is has been you know, 0:19:35.119 --> 0:19:40.800 wearing us down and hiding the situation a little bit 0:19:40.920 --> 0:19:44.800 right that people don't people, you know, when we're able 0:19:44.960 --> 0:19:49.679 to really show up and and provide the folks that 0:19:49.720 --> 0:19:52.919 are arriving with the support that they need. What it 0:19:53.040 --> 0:19:57.760 means is that the government isn't paying attention because it's 0:19:57.760 --> 0:20:02.000 it's not their problem. In that moment um, it means 0:20:02.040 --> 0:20:07.120 that DC residents don't have to walk by asylum seekers 0:20:07.160 --> 0:20:09.520 when they're trying to get to the metro after work. 0:20:10.320 --> 0:20:17.280 It means that, um, you know, the people are cared 0:20:17.320 --> 0:20:19.640 for and and that's great, and it's work that we're 0:20:19.680 --> 0:20:23.000 proud of it. It's work that we're doing well. Um, 0:20:23.040 --> 0:20:28.680 But it's also work that we need support doing, um 0:20:28.720 --> 0:20:32.359 because it's it's a lot and the numbers have increased, 0:20:33.640 --> 0:20:38.879 you know, and and we want to be able to 0:20:39.359 --> 0:20:43.399 provide welcome. We want to be able to give the 0:20:43.440 --> 0:20:47.760 folks what they need. But as long as we're sort 0:20:47.800 --> 0:20:51.720 of living in this world where bus tickets are massively 0:20:51.800 --> 0:20:56.640 expensive and food is expensive and you know, we gotta 0:20:56.720 --> 0:21:01.040 we gotta help clothes people and and help people meet 0:21:01.080 --> 0:21:04.320 their needs, then then we have to have support. And 0:21:04.359 --> 0:21:07.440 that's just that's just the reality. Yeah, That's one of 0:21:07.480 --> 0:21:09.639 the things that is really frustrating about this too, is 0:21:09.640 --> 0:21:11.639 it's like it's not like the resources that you just 0:21:11.680 --> 0:21:13.840 don't exist, Like it's not it's not even like the 0:21:13.880 --> 0:21:16.760 state hasn't like attempted to put resources out, but it 0:21:16.800 --> 0:21:19.000 just got fed into this NGO complex people who are 0:21:19.040 --> 0:21:25.920 just doing nothing. And I don't know, like the the 0:21:25.920 --> 0:21:28.240 the way you get to see sort of both arms 0:21:28.320 --> 0:21:30.280 of what the state does, or it's like, okay, on 0:21:30.320 --> 0:21:31.400 the one hand, you have the part of the state 0:21:31.400 --> 0:21:35.000 that's just hitting people with clubs, that's just doing this stuff, 0:21:35.040 --> 0:21:36.520 and you get the sort of political army of the 0:21:36.560 --> 0:21:39.959 state who just like again, are just literally shuffling people's 0:21:40.040 --> 0:21:43.200 lives around as as you know, as political theater, and 0:21:43.280 --> 0:21:46.200 the political theory doesn't matter because these people's lives don't 0:21:46.200 --> 0:21:48.600 matter to the state or to anyone who has even 0:21:48.600 --> 0:21:51.000 a tiny bit of power unless you know they're it's 0:21:51.080 --> 0:21:54.320 visible enough that people are like the people have to 0:21:54.359 --> 0:21:57.840 see it, and that people, you know, get annoyed because oh, hey, 0:21:57.920 --> 0:22:00.000 look at this thing happening. That's like interfering with my 0:22:00.119 --> 0:22:02.959 life now, and you know, and then it's like, oh, hey, 0:22:02.960 --> 0:22:04.159 they're supposed to be part of the state that like 0:22:04.240 --> 0:22:09.560 tastes care of people just isn't and that's just incredibly frustrating. 0:22:09.840 --> 0:22:16.119 I don't know, it's I think of a few things. 0:22:16.240 --> 0:22:20.800 So when we first started seeing buses coming to d 0:22:20.920 --> 0:22:26.119 c Um, you know that people are dropped off in 0:22:26.160 --> 0:22:30.119 front of Union Station and at the time, there was 0:22:30.560 --> 0:22:34.600 an encampment of an housed people um that you know, 0:22:34.680 --> 0:22:37.960 had their tents and stuff in front of Union Station. 0:22:38.080 --> 0:22:40.359 And so folks would get off the bus and say, 0:22:40.480 --> 0:22:43.120 you know what are the tents? Like who are these 0:22:43.119 --> 0:22:46.439 people living in tents? And so be like, welcome, welcome 0:22:46.480 --> 0:22:48.600 to the nation's capital of this place that you just 0:22:48.680 --> 0:22:52.800 came to seek opportunity, to seek safety. And you're immediately 0:22:52.960 --> 0:22:57.760 showing getting showed in in the most you know, visible 0:22:57.920 --> 0:23:01.240 terms possible of a way that the state is failing 0:23:01.240 --> 0:23:06.359 its own people because people in d C don't have 0:23:06.440 --> 0:23:13.280 housing um, and housing here is immensely expensive. And then um, 0:23:13.320 --> 0:23:17.199 I say in the early days because uh in I 0:23:17.200 --> 0:23:21.240 think it was in May uh that encampment was cleared 0:23:21.800 --> 0:23:27.280 um and so those people lost their homes um. And 0:23:28.440 --> 0:23:34.040 now it continues to be a struggle that you know, 0:23:34.160 --> 0:23:37.800 if we are unable to provide housing for the people 0:23:37.960 --> 0:23:41.080 that get off the bus, they are going into the 0:23:41.160 --> 0:23:45.760 DC shelter system that is already overrun because there is 0:23:46.160 --> 0:23:51.479 a housing crisis and DC and aluming eviction crisis, and 0:23:52.240 --> 0:23:56.800 even for the folks that are arriving here, on the buses. 0:23:57.480 --> 0:24:02.399 If they don't have support, they're they're thrust into this 0:24:02.480 --> 0:24:07.320 situation in which the state is preventing them from working. 0:24:07.880 --> 0:24:14.600 They don't have a way to work legally for at 0:24:14.680 --> 0:24:19.800 least a few months, um, presumably until you know, they 0:24:19.800 --> 0:24:22.600 can apply for a work permit, presumably after they file 0:24:22.720 --> 0:24:26.960 for asylum. But these are folks that don't have a 0:24:26.960 --> 0:24:30.919 way to work legally, that are have that have zero 0:24:31.000 --> 0:24:36.480 support from the state. So how like, tell me how 0:24:36.560 --> 0:24:44.359 somebody is supposed to live in the United States, feed themselves, 0:24:44.480 --> 0:24:48.680 feed them their feed their families, um, have a roof 0:24:48.720 --> 0:24:54.400 over their head, survive, have a cell phone for your 0:24:54.800 --> 0:25:01.879 surveillance app have the means to travel an hour, you know, 0:25:03.600 --> 0:25:09.920 once every few weeks to check in with ICE. If 0:25:09.920 --> 0:25:15.479 they're legally prevented from working. It's just it's a total 0:25:15.560 --> 0:25:27.880 abandonment of people who need and wholeheartedly deserve support. Yeah, 0:25:27.880 --> 0:25:30.359 and I think like it's it's honestly, like honestly think 0:25:30.400 --> 0:25:33.320 it's it's worse than abandoned, right Like if they just like, 0:25:33.359 --> 0:25:35.399 if these people were allowed to come into the US 0:25:35.480 --> 0:25:37.840 and the state did literally nothing at all, it would 0:25:37.840 --> 0:25:39.600 be better in the situation that exists now, Like it's 0:25:39.600 --> 0:25:41.280 not even just that they're being abandoned, is that they're 0:25:41.320 --> 0:25:44.919 actively being prevented from like doing the things they need 0:25:44.960 --> 0:25:47.520 to live. And it's I don't know, I think this 0:25:47.560 --> 0:25:49.439 is something you see on a sort of broader level, right, 0:25:49.440 --> 0:25:51.360 whether there's a lot of I don't know, Back when 0:25:51.359 --> 0:25:53.000 I was in sort of social theory land, there's a 0:25:53.000 --> 0:25:55.880 lot of talk about like necropolitics and the state letting 0:25:55.880 --> 0:25:57.640 people die, and it's like, well, yeah, but like they're 0:25:57.680 --> 0:26:00.800 also actively helping to kill them too, like that that's 0:26:00.840 --> 0:26:03.800 like it's not just that the state abandoned people. It's 0:26:03.800 --> 0:26:05.560 that the state abandoned people and then it it takes 0:26:05.560 --> 0:26:08.600 the resources and prevents anyone else from using them, and 0:26:08.640 --> 0:26:10.200 then you know, and when it when it does sort 0:26:10.200 --> 0:26:11.800 of yeah, I mean going back to sort of this 0:26:11.840 --> 0:26:13.679 NHO that's not doing anything, it's like, yeah, when it 0:26:13.720 --> 0:26:16.600 when it does sort of send these resources out, it's 0:26:16.640 --> 0:26:19.919 sending them into these like into its own sort of 0:26:19.920 --> 0:26:22.280 Paris state complex with the sort of geo sector that's 0:26:22.280 --> 0:26:25.920 just not doing anything, And it's just I don't know, 0:26:26.119 --> 0:26:30.560 like it's it's this bind, right, because it's like, yeah, 0:26:30.640 --> 0:26:32.800 like on the one hand, like communities have to be 0:26:32.880 --> 0:26:35.920 able to support each other, but it's like we don't 0:26:36.359 --> 0:26:39.600 have the resources for it, and that has to come 0:26:39.640 --> 0:26:46.720 from somewhere, right, Yeah, it's impossible, and it's it's heartbreaking 0:26:46.760 --> 0:26:51.040 to see when DC is barely doing anything for the 0:26:51.080 --> 0:26:55.280 people that have been living here for generations, and then 0:26:55.760 --> 0:26:59.680 when we have new folks arrive, they're thrust into this 0:27:00.760 --> 0:27:08.000