Breathe

I had grand plans of my next post explaining the ways the new administration could—and could not—implement its grand goals of mass deportation. Suffice to say, the research laid me low.

My first response after this election was profound exhaustion, coupled with a few flashbacks to how bad November 2016 was—something I had not let myself take account of at the time, because I was too damned busy. So eight years later, I got to experience the exhaustion and defeat so many others experienced back then. (Yay?) Within a few days, I felt destruction turn to determination.

The ”what ifs” of the research I was doing threatened that turn. This time, I let myself rest. I turned back to grading student work, meeting students, doing some law school service, all of which is my actual job. And I kept the research questions at the back of my mind. And with a little rest, I kept that determination winning over the destruction.

Also with the grace of rest, I got a little more perspective. My summation, for now, is that, yes, he could do all the deportations he wants, but for that to actually happen, too many unknown things need to fall into place. Possible to happen, but impossible to predict. And if there is any relief in the clown car he is assembling, it is that the in-fighting will be epic, and his plans only work if Stephen Miller gets unfettered access to do everything he wants. But he’s not the only one who wants their fingerprints all over this (see, e.g. governor who shot her dog). And when the nominal leaders are competing with each other, they may get in his way.

And in the meantime, some of the same tools we developed last time are still useful, like the ones for screening people for immigration options, or the toolkits for safety planning especially for mixed-status families (deportable parents with U.S. citizen kids, among other kinds of families with varying risk levels thanks to our complicated immigration “system”). They need updating, yes. They need a lot of circulation. But one chunk of the November 2016 work is already there for us. And even though it is currently unknowable how much “mass deportation” they will be capable of, some people will be plunged quickly into the chaos via flashy worksite raids, revocation of parole and Temporary Protected Status, and more.

I do think one particular policy will have a heavy impact: the expansion of something called Expedited Removal. So I’ll explain that one soon. Meantime, I’m just here, toggling between reading my books (Horse, by Geraldine Brooks….to be followed by a re-read of Parable of the Sower by goddess Octavia Butler) and reading the tea leaves, so that I have the energy to do something useful once we actually know what that is.

I really liked the metaphor in this piece from Slate, about a special forces diving operation that literally had them tangled up without air. “…on an individual level, when things start to feel really overwhelming, we don’t all need to think 10 steps ahead. We need to focus just on what’s important now. Work on the entanglement; open the hose; breathe. Then do it again.”

So there’s your reminder from me (and to me, because my track record at taking my own advice is pretty spotty) to keep breathing.