Bringing Us All Into Universal Belonging
Strategies to Eliminate "Foreign" as a Category of Exclusion
The Strategic Importance of Language and Categorization
Accepting the “illegal” designation for human beings creates a dangerous precedent. Once society accepts that some people can be categorized as inherently “illegal” for their existence rather than their actions, it becomes much easier to apply similar dehumanizing logic to political opponents, protesters, journalists, or anyone who challenges authority.
The goal isn’t just defending immigrants, it's defending the principle that human beings cannot be '“illegal” and that constitutional protections apply to all people within U.S. borders, regardless of their documentation status or country of origin.
Reframing the Fundamental Premise
From “Foreign” to “Community Member”
The most powerful shift is moving from thinking about people in terms of their relationship to nation-states to thinking about them in terms of their relationships to communities:
Community Contribution Framework: Instead of asking “Where are you from?” the relevant questions become “What do you contribute to our community?” and “How are you connected to the people around you?”
Neighborhood Identity: Emphasize local belonging over national origin. Someone is a “neighbor,” “community member,” “parent at the school,” “worker at the hospital,” rather than “foreigner” or “immigrant.”
Relationship Networks: Highlight the web of relationships that connect people - family members, coworkers, friends, fellow congregants - rather than documentation status.
From “Legal Status” to “Human Rights”
Shift the conversation from legal categories to universal human rights:
Rights-Based Language: Everyone has the right to safety, dignity, fair treatment, and due process regardless of paperwork.
Constitutional Universality: Constitutional protections apply to all people within U.S. borders, not just citizens.
Moral Authority: Legal status is an administrative category, not a measure of human worth or moral standing.
Cultural Strategy: Making “Foreign” Obsolete
Shared Experience Emphasis
Focus on the universal human experiences that transcend national boundaries:
Universal Needs: Everyone needs housing, healthcare, education, safety, and community connection.
Common Struggles: Working families face similar challenges regardless of where they were born, from housing costs, healthcare access, and job security, to childcare.
Shared Aspirations: Parents want good schools for their children, workers want fair wages, communities want safety and prosperity.
Local Identity Building
Strengthen local and regional identities that transcend national categories:
Neighborhood Pride: Celebrate what makes specific neighborhoods, cities, and regions unique.
Regional Culture: Emphasize local traditions, foods, music, and customs that include everyone who participates.
Community History: Tell stories about how communities have been built by people from many different backgrounds working together.
Intergenerational Perspective
Help people recognize that “foreign” is temporary and arbitrary:
Family History: Most American families have recent immigrant backgrounds. What seems “foreign” today becomes “local” within a generation.
Historical Continuity: Almost every community has been shaped by people who came from somewhere else, often recently.
Future Orientation: Today’s children will grow up together regardless of their parents’ birthplace.
Practical Strategies for Socialization
Educational Approaches
Community Storytelling Projects: Collect and share stories that highlight how people from different backgrounds contribute to shared community life.
Historical Education: Teach accurate history about how communities have always been diverse and how “foreign” categories have shifted over time.
Economic Education: Help people understand how economic systems work and how everyone's labor and consumption contributes to shared prosperity.
Media and Communication
Language Alternatives: Consistently use “undocumented” rather than “illegal,” “community member” rather than “foreigner,” “our neighbors” rather than “them.”
Inclusive Imagery: Use visual representation that shows diversity as normal and universal rather than exceptional.
Story Centering: Tell stories that center shared experiences and community connections rather than documentation status or country of origin.
Community Building Activities
Mixed-Status Organizing: Build organizations and activities that bring together people of different documentation statuses around shared interests.
Cultural Fusion Events: Organize community events that celebrate the blending of different traditions rather than maintaining separate cultural silos.
Mutual Aid Networks: Build support systems that help community members based on need rather than status or origin.
Institutional Change
Inclusive Policies: Advocate for policies that serve community members regardless of documentation status.
Universal Services: Support healthcare, education, and social services that are available to all community members.
Economic Integration: Build economic systems that include everyone and recognize everyone’s contributions.
Messaging Strategy: Universal Themes
Economic Messaging
“We All Work”: Everyone contributes labor, pays taxes (sales, property, often income), and participates in the economy.
“We All Need”: Everyone needs housing, healthcare, education, and safety. These are community needs, not individual privileges.
“We All Benefit”: Strong communities with everyone participating are safer, more prosperous, and more resilient for everyone.
Values Messaging
“American Values Apply to Everyone”: Due process, equal treatment, and human dignity aren't citizenship privileges, they’re universal principles.
“Community Values”: Helping neighbors, protecting families, and building strong communities are values that transcend documentation status.
“Shared Future”: We're building communities and a society that our children will inherit together.
Rights Messaging
“Constitutional Rights”: The Constitution protects people, not just citizens. Due process, equal protection, and civil liberties apply to everyone.
“Human Rights”: Basic human dignity and rights don’t depend on government permission or documentation.
“Community Rights”: Communities have the right to include all their members and to resist having their neighbors targeted for removal.
Addressing Resistance and Fear
Economic Anxiety Response
When people express economic fears about immigration:
Common Cause Identification: “We're all struggling with housing costs, healthcare expenses, and job insecurity; let’s work together to address these real problems.”
System Analysis: “The problem isn't other working people; it’s an economic system that doesn’t provide enough good jobs, affordable housing, or healthcare for anyone.”
Solidarity Building: “When any workers are exploited or afraid, it drives down wages and conditions for all workers.”
Cultural Anxiety Response
When people express fears about cultural change:
Continuity Emphasis: “Our community has always been shaped by people from different backgrounds, that's what makes it strong.”
Shared Values: “We all want safe neighborhoods, good schools, and strong communities.”
Cultural Enrichment: “Diversity makes our community more interesting, with better food, music, and traditions for everyone to enjoy.”
Security Anxiety Response
When people express security concerns:
Community Safety: “Safe communities are ones where everyone can report crimes, cooperate with legitimate law enforcement, and look out for each other.”
Real vs. Manufactured Threats: “The real threats to our safety are things like poverty, lack of mental health services, and easy access to guns, not our neighbors.”
Mutual Protection: “We’re all safer when everyone in our community feels safe enough to participate in community life.”
Long-term Cultural Transformation
Generational Strategy
Youth Leadership: Support young people who’ve grown up in diverse communities and see diversity as normal.
Educational Curriculum: Advocate for education that teaches accurate history and civic engagement based on universal human rights.
Cultural Production: Support art, music, literature, and media that reflects diverse communities as normal and universal.
Institutional Transformation
Religious Institutions: Work with faith communities to emphasize universal human dignity and community care.
Educational Institutions: Transform schools to serve all students and families regardless of documentation status.
Economic Institutions: Build businesses, unions, and economic organizations that include everyone.
Political Transformation
Electoral Strategy: Support candidates who talk about community members rather than immigrants and foreigners.
Policy Advocacy: Advocate for policies that serve community needs rather than creating documentation-based hierarchies.
Civic Engagement: Build civic organizations that engage all community members in democratic participation.
Measuring Success
Cultural Indicators
Decreased use of “foreign” and “illegal” language in community discourse
Increased participation in mixed-status community activities and organizations
Growing support for policies that serve all community members
Political Indicators
Local policies that include all residents regardless of documentation status
Electoral success for candidates who use inclusive language and policies
Decreased support for enforcement-only immigration approaches
Social Indicators
Increased intergroup contact and relationship building across documentation status
Community response to enforcement that treats targeted individuals as community members
Cultural production that reflects diversity as normal rather than exceptional
The Ultimate Goal: Universal Belonging
The goal isn’t to eliminate all distinctions or to ignore the real impacts of immigration policy. It’s to create communities where everyone belongs, where human dignity doesn’t depend on government permission, and where constitutional protections apply to all people.
This cultural transformation is essential for protecting democracy because it establishes the principle that no human being is “illegal,” that rights apply to people rather than citizens, and that communities have the authority to include and protect all their members. Once these principles are culturally established, it becomes much harder for authoritarian movements to target any group for exclusion, harassment, or removal.
The work of making “foreign” obsolete is ultimately the work of building true democracy - communities where everyone can participate, contribute, and belong, and where human dignity and constitutional rights are universal rather than privileges granted by birth or documentation status.