At the Court, We Carried Light
A personal reflection from the Supreme Court on immigration, family separation, and why love, courage, and people power still give us hope.
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At the Supreme Court, I Saw the Worst of Our Politics and the Best of Our People
Friends, I meant to share this yesterday, but I have still been processing what a beautiful and ugly day it was at the Supreme Court.
The Court was hearing a case over Donald Trump’s attempt to strip birthright citizenship from some children born on U.S. soil, using executive power to challenge the 14th Amendment and a right that has been protected for generations.
I went to Washington, DC, to stand in support of our immigrant friends, family members, co-workers, and community members. I went because millions of people are living under the threat of deportation to countries where many do not speak the language, have no real ties, and in some cases have never even traveled. I went because what is happening is not just cruel. It is the result of political cowardice, manufactured chaos, and years of congressional failure.
That is the truth at the heart of this moment. The case before the Supreme Court is being used as a way to sidestep the work Congress should have done long ago: fix our broken immigration system. Instead of doing that hard work, too many politicians have chosen fear over solutions, slogans over policy, and cruelty over courage.
Let me say this as clearly as I can, because I have said it a million times and I will keep saying it for the people in the back: we all want safe and secure borders. Nobody is asking for chaos. Nobody is asking for violence. Nobody wants dangerous people crossing into our communities unchecked. That is not what immigrants, advocates, or ordinary Americans are demanding. What we are demanding is a system that is lawful, humane, functional, and fair.
For years, our government told people to apply. Apply for green cards. Apply for DACA. Apply for Temporary Protected Status. Apply for refugee protections. Apply, wait, check in, follow the rules, come back next year, and maybe next year Congress will finally fix the system. That message came under both Democratic and Republican control. Year after year, people built lives here while the government kept stringing them along, acknowledging their presence, taking their paperwork, collecting their fees, renewing their protections, and then refusing to deliver permanent answers.
So what does “fix the system” actually mean?
It means having enough judges and court staff so immigration cases are heard fairly and on time, instead of forcing people to wait years in legal limbo. It means securing the border with smart investments, modern technology, and competent management at ports of entry. It means reducing the number of detention beds and ending the profit-driven machinery that treats human beings like inventory. It means reforming legal immigration so it actually reflects the needs and values of the United States. It means increasing resources to process applications and work authorizations efficiently. It means funding case management programs so families understand their legal obligations and can navigate the system. It means hiring more asylum officers and immigration judges so cases move faster and more fairly. It means eliminating unnecessary barriers, like the six-month waiting period for asylum seekers to apply for work authorization. It means addressing the root causes of migration through diplomacy and humanitarian aid. And it means permanently protecting Dreamers, DACA recipients, TPS holders, and others who have spent years contributing to this country while waiting for Congress to act like Congress.
Those are real solutions. They require effort. They require seriousness. They require lawmakers to do their jobs.
But under Donald Trump and with the help of complicit Republicans in Congress, that route is apparently too difficult, because real reform requires work. It requires governing. It requires negotiation. It requires partnering with Democrats instead of demonizing immigrants for political gain. And perhaps most importantly, it threatens the business model of the deportation industry, the private contractors, detention profiteers, and political donors who make enormous sums of money from human suffering.
That is part of what makes me so angry. There is money in this cruelty. There is profit in detention. There is power in fear. And now the same forces that have targeted undocumented immigrants, asylum seekers, Dreamers, TPS holders, and families seeking refuge are trying to stretch that cruelty even further, reaching toward people born and raised here in the United States.
I am angry that any of this is even up for consideration.
And yesterday, standing there, I felt old grief come rushing back.
I remembered the many times I went to Homestead Air Reserve Base and looked toward the children who had been separated from their families. More than 3,000 children were held there in terrible conditions. We stood outside those fences trying to send them air hugs and kisses, trying to send some tiny signal across steel and distance that they were seen, that they were loved, that we would not stop fighting for them. We wanted them to know that even if the people in power treated them as disposable, there were people outside those gates who believed their lives mattered.
Yesterday, all of that came back to me.
Here we are again, with Trump 2.0 trying to unleash another trauma on immigrant families and on this nation. Here we are again, watching cruelty dressed up as policy. Here we are again, hearing powerful people talk about human beings as if they are burdens, threats, or bargaining chips.
Years ago, my sign in front of Homestead read: “I do not know you, but you are my child now, and I will never stop fighting for you.”
Yesterday, at the Supreme Court, my sign read: “My torch welcomes all. If the kids go, I go.”
That is still how I feel.
Because this fight is not just about policy. It is about who we are. It is about whether we still believe children deserve safety, families deserve dignity, and human beings deserve more than cages, court backlogs, and political scapegoating. It is about whether America will be governed by fear, or guided by its highest values.
And even in the middle of such painful circumstances, I saw something yesterday that no ruling, no politician, and no hate-filled movement can erase.
I saw love.
I saw courage.
I saw ordinary people show up for one another.
I saw the same thing I always see when good people gather in defense of their communities: compassion stronger than propaganda, solidarity stronger than fear, and moral clarity stronger than political cruelty.
That is why I still have hope.
Hope is not pretending everything is fine. Hope is not looking away from danger. Hope is choosing to stand together anyway. Hope is showing up at the court, at the fence, in the streets, in our communities, and in the places where power would rather we stay silent. Hope is refusing to let children be abandoned, families be erased, or our humanity be negotiated away.
The forces of cruelty are loud, but they are not the whole story. The whole story is also us. The people who keep showing up. The people who keep loving bigger than fear. The people who keep telling the truth. The people who refuse to give up on one another.
And that is what I carried home with me from Washington.
Yes, it was an ugly day. But it was also a beautiful one, because even in the shadow of injustice, people came carrying light.
We are still here.
We are still standing.
And as long as love, courage, and people power keep rising, this country still has a chance to become more worthy of all the people who call it home.
Why the Grassroots Resistance Can’t Wait
💥Your Power in Action: What You Can Do Today
Take Action: Tell Congress: We need immigration reform now
Take Action: Tell Lawmakers to support: MEDICARE FOR ALL
Take Action: Tell Congress: Subpoena Hegseth About Iran School Attack
Take Action: Tell Treasury: Keep Trump Off Our Money
Take action: Tell Congress: No Troops on the Ground in Iran
Take Action: Tell Republicans: End the Shutdown by Reforming ICE and CBP
Take Action: Stop the Republican Attack on Voting Rights
The movement for freedom over fascism, progress, and power to the people starts here.
Together, we can defend our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy, hold leaders accountable to the people’s will, and inspire voters to make a meaningful difference.
This is our moment to rise, resist, and reclaim our democracy. Millions of Americans and people who call America home are already rising up in the streets, at the ballot box, and in their communities. Join us.
People Power United champions freedom over fascism, progress over fear, and power to the people. We believe change is possible, and we do the work to make it happen. Join us to build people power.
Laurie Woodward Garcia
(paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)
Leader, People Power United
People Power United | In this community, we speak out, show up, and build power against racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia, misogyny, sexism, ageism, ableism, sizeism, elitism, transphobia, misogynoir, and bigotry.
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Thanks for reminding me there are still good people out there, sometimes that gets lost in all the noise and rhetoric so thank you again
What a beautiful column! You express our feelings so well. Thank you for standing up for these unfortunate souls who are caught up in our hideous present government morass!!