Our friends fled the home where they spent most of their lives because they no longer felt safe. Flying in the middle of the night to avoid detection so that they wouldn’t be detained. As they saw others in their same situation arrested, separated from their families, sent to concentration camps here and abroad – caught up in legal limbo from which it seemed there may be no return. Instead, they opted to leave. And who can blame them? I certainly don’t.

This is the United States of America in 2026. As ever, where elites direct some working people to blame other working people for their problems rather than blaming the elites themselves for capturing all the wealth and power and keeping the rest of us without. This is the history of our country. Those who are blamed live quietly in the shadows to avoid being targeted until they are noticed and find themselves the quarry of state and para-state actors. This is also the history of our country. And still, some of us push back – softly and loudly, effectively and less so, tentatively and directly. We raise our voices and take action to reveal the contraction at the heart of our nation. And this also is our history. 

Our friends’ departure among so many others is the shame of our country. Those of us who remain must make certain that we remember their presence here: what they brought us, what they gave us and we gave them, what we still exchange in our ongoing relationship. And here I speak both personally and politically. We will continue our relationship with our friends. We hope to visit them someday. We hold them in our hearts. And we also hold all of the families in the same and similar situations in our hearts. 

Families who fled. Families who are separated by abduction and incarceration. Families who live without the healthcare that one of their members needs. Families who don’t have what they need to put food on the table. Families who struggle with addiction. All the families of every race who aren’t getting what they need because the wealthy, greedy elites grab and keep it for themselves. 

We all deserve so much better. We will fight for it. And we will win it. I swear that we will.

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