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immigration

Identity

When a man asks people to translate a hate message he's received, their response is unforgettable

Reading the words would be one thing. Having to think about what they mean is almost too intense.


As part of an experiment, a man asks for help translating a Facebook message he has received.

There's a man in Lithuania who speaks only English. The message is in Lithuanian. He can't read it, so he asks some locals to translate it for him.

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Photo by Chris Boese on Unsplash

Thousands of children and parents were forcibly separated while seeking asylum in 2017 and 2018.

The United States espouses noble ideals and has worked for more than two centuries to make its way toward them. It's always been an uneven process, however, and sometimes we stumble—or get violently shoved—backward.

The "zero tolerance" policy for handling migrant families was one of those times. The policy, unofficially piloted by the Trump administration in 2017 and officially enacted in May of 2018, forced children and parents to be separated instead of being detained together while awaiting asylum decisions.

During those two years, thousands of migrant children at the U.S.-Mexico border were taken from their families with no notice, sometimes torn straight from the parents' arms, and sent away to unknown locations around the country. Thousands of parents and caregivers were deported with no idea where their children were or if they'd ever see them again. Some were toddlers and preschoolers. We read horror stories of children screaming while being taken away, their parents frantic but helpless to do anything about it.

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Education

American mom living in Germany dispels myths about living overseas

Living abroad is something that many folks dream of, even if only for a brief period of time.

Platz der Republik, Berlin, Germany.

Living abroad is something that many folks dream of, even if only for a brief period of time. There are college programs specifically for people who want to study abroad to gain worldly experience, but some people want to live in other countries for reasons other than studying and actually make the leap. In America we’re taught from a fairly young age that America is the best country in the world, and everyone wants to live here, but some people who have lived in other countries are challenging that notion. Aly is a mom who emigrated to Germany nearly three years ago after giving up her job as a professor only months away from making tenure, and she has no regrets.

Aly runs the TikTok account USA Mom in Germany where she educates her followers on some of the major differences between living in the U.S. and living in Germany. She explains in one video how in America she experienced homelessness and food insecurity as a single mother, and makes TikToks to “combat U.S. propaganda.” She goes on to say in the video that “the only way that things are going to change in the U.S. is if people understand that there are different countries, governments, and social systems that work better.”

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Democracy

A new study completely debunks one of the worst stereotypes about immigrants

They use fewer public benefits than native-born citizens.

Naturalization Ceremony at Harriet Tubman National Historical Park on August 8, 2019.

One of the most pernicious stereotypes about immigrants in the United States is that they take more from the country than they give back because they are more likely to use welfare benefits than native-born citizens. These stereotypes lead to public policies that reduce the number of immigrants coming into the country and make it harder for those who are here to get green cards.

“Immigrants are more likely to be less educated and to work in low-skilled occupations than native-born Americans. As a result, Americans wrongly think that immigrants are big consumers of welfare,” Alex Nowrasteh, an immigration policy analyst currently working at the Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity of the Cato Institute, told Upworthy.

“Immigrants are also more likely to be ethnic and racial minorities than native-born Americans, which might feed the stereotype that they are more likely to consume welfare,” Nowrasteh added.

These stereotypes create a hostile environment for immigrants that makes it harder for them to succeed and assimilate. It also leads to statutes that unfairly target them.

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