Lessons from Those Who Escaped
The immigration debate today is chaotic and full of contradictions, with extremes ranging from “deport everyone” to “let everyone in without question.” In the midst of the noise are immigrants who fled socialist regimes, and we are in a unique position to defend the fundamental principles that make America what it is.
Being less tied to partisan politics, we should be less influenced by the pressure to fit into any specific ideological area. After all, freedom of choice is part of the reason we came here. As we watch candidates like Zohran Mamdani in NYC gain popularity by promoting the very same policies we fled, we have a duty to cut through all the noise in the current immigration debate with a reminder of what drew us to America in the first place: the promise of liberty. We must be part of the solution in the battle against totalitarianism.
The Immigration Blind Spot
Mamdani garnered most of his support from native-born voters in long-established communities, rather than communities with higher immigrant populations. This is now a trend across major metro areas, as native citizens increasingly vote for ideas that are now rebranded as “democratic socialism,” “economic justice,” or “equity redistribution.” But the principles of centralized planning, state control of industry, and the erosion of individual liberties are the same, and so are the outcomes.
It’s easy to see how many Americans, including second and third generation immigrants, who have inherited freedom would not see it as the miracle we do. To them, socialism can sound like compassion. When you’ve never had to bribe a doctor or stand in a ration line, centralized control can sound efficient. But it isn’t, and we’re living proof of the result.
By contrast, immigrants from socialist regimes carry a kind of civic literacy that can’t be taught in a textbook. We know what it means to lose your rights slowly under beautiful slogans. We recognize propaganda disguised as progress when we see it. Talk to a Venezuelan who watched supermarkets empty while officials on TV blamed capitalism, or to a Nicaraguan who remembers the “free” education that came with forced political indoctrination, or to a Cuban who lost their home, livelihood and voice all at once. It makes sense that some of the clearest reminders of the values of freedom are coming from people who came to the United States precisely looking for them.
This perspective matters now more than ever when a majority of young people born in America reject the very ideas that made this nation great. This is where the right kind of immigration needs to be part of the solution. Integrating the voices of people who’ve lived under failed systems can help ground the country in reality — amplifying their voices in schools, placing them in civic institutions where they don’t impose an ideology, but offer perspective.
A Duty to Preserve Freedom
There is growing pressure indeed, both cultural and political, for immigrants to conform to a specific narrative or vote a certain way, or they will be seen as ungrateful or disloyal. As both extremes of the political spectrum try to pull us in one direction or another, to tell us what we should and should not say and which side we need to be on, we need to stay grounded in truth, remember what brought us here in the first place and the values we want to preserve for our future generations. Immigrants do not fit into a political box or category.
We have a responsibility to help do the hard work of preserving the country we chose to live in. Our job is not solely to integrate, get a job, make a living, and make something of ourselves. We have a duty to this community that took us in, to do our very best to share the truth we’ve lived through with American audiences and to join those who’ve defended it all along in preserving the values that have made the United States what it is today.
Immigrants may be some of the last voices keeping America from forgetting what made it great, and we have a responsibility to use that voice — or forfeit the liberty that drew us here in the first place.
Gabriela Blanco
Cuban Dissident | Liberty Advocate
