Migrant Voices

The borders of our world cut not only across international boundaries, they also increasingly stretch deeply into the interior of nations—into our homes, cities, communities, courts, and everyday interactions. Citizenship status, visa status, vulnerability to deportation—these are just a few of the dividing lines increasingly separating our country into different communities with starkly different options for how or if its members become full participants in our national experiment.

As immigrants in the United States, both documented and not, are increasingly under attack—stripped of their status, arrested, and deported—it’s critical that their stories are heard across these borders. Migrant Voices is an oral testimony project from The Nation exploring, and listening to, a variety of immigrant voices: from recent arrivals to asylum seekers making their case in the courts, from the undocumented keeping under the radar to the DACAmented on the front lines—people from all over the world who have fled or left their homes and are looking to find, or keep, their place in America.

‘Even In a Pandemic, We’re Still a Minority’

‘Even In a Pandemic, We’re Still a Minority’ ‘Even In a Pandemic, We’re Still a Minority’

After fleeing long-term sexual abuse in Honduras, one young man tries to survive the coronavirus lockdown in San Francisco.

Jul 30, 2020 / John Washington

‘An Experience I Wouldn’t Wish My Worst Enemy to Undergo’

‘An Experience I Wouldn’t Wish My Worst Enemy to Undergo’ ‘An Experience I Wouldn’t Wish My Worst Enemy to Undergo’

In ICE detention for more than two years, a man from Cameroon pens a plea for mercy.

May 18, 2020 / John Washington

‘That First Night in America, I Couldn’t Sleep’

‘That First Night in America, I Couldn’t Sleep’ ‘That First Night in America, I Couldn’t Sleep’

After growing up in China, a young woman tries to find her place in Oakland.

Mar 16, 2020 / John Washington

Hear From Immigrants and Refugees in Their Own Words

Hear From Immigrants and Refugees in Their Own Words Hear From Immigrants and Refugees in Their Own Words

Migrant Voices, a series from The Nation.

Mar 16, 2020 / John Washington

‘It’s Like Living in Solitary Confinement, but Out in the World’

‘It’s Like Living in Solitary Confinement, but Out in the World’ ‘It’s Like Living in Solitary Confinement, but Out in the World’

Born in Soviet Ukraine and denied status in Canada and the United States, Karina describes the plight of statelessness—living without being recognized by any country at all.

Jan 23, 2020 / John Washington

‘We Are So Much More Than Victims’

‘We Are So Much More Than Victims’ ‘We Are So Much More Than Victims’

Batool was just a teenager when the Syrian civil war broke out. After living through the worst of the fighting and years in exile, she’s making a new life in Berkeley.

Dec 2, 2019 / John Washington

‘I Used to Wonder What My Karma Was That I Had to End Up in a Place Like This’

‘I Used to Wonder What My Karma Was That I Had to End Up in a Place Like This’ ‘I Used to Wonder What My Karma Was That I Had to End Up in a Place Like This’

A Nepali TPS holder and domestic worker describes what it’s like to live in the US without papers and to fight for workers’ rights.

Sep 18, 2019 / John Washington

‘It’s Not Shameful to Work in the Fields. But It’s Hard.’

‘It’s Not Shameful to Work in the Fields. But It’s Hard.’ ‘It’s Not Shameful to Work in the Fields. But It’s Hard.’

Americans don’t want these jobs, or can’t do them—so nearly a quarter of a million guest workers do them instead.

Jul 29, 2019 / John Washington

‘“Are You Illegal?” I Will Never Forget Those Words.’

‘“Are You Illegal?” I Will Never Forget Those Words.’ ‘“Are You Illegal?” I Will Never Forget Those Words.’

A young woman, brought to the US as a baby and abandoned and abused by her parents, struggles to gain status and stay in her beloved Bronx.

Jun 10, 2019 / John Washington

‘I Don’t Want to Stay in a Country That Doesn’t Want Me As Badly as I Want It’

‘I Don’t Want to Stay in a Country That Doesn’t Want Me As Badly as I Want It’ ‘I Don’t Want to Stay in a Country That Doesn’t Want Me As Badly as I Want It’

The visa-holding university student who grew up in the United States but may never be able to work here.

Apr 15, 2019 / John Washington

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