Without The Freedom of Movement

In the wake of the ICE terror in Minneapolis, the national alarm on immigrant concerns has exploded. The state-sanctioned murders of white US citizens have activated a new popular backlash. It took me a while to realize this is not only about immigrants. We are also actively seeing the elimination of our civil liberties. Our ability to dissent, protest, and publicize the horrors going on in the United States is under threat in this regime. I welcome the newly activated with an acknowledgement that migrants are necessarily subject to the tyranny of the state. Newer immigrants are subject to arbitrary detention, convoluted bureaucracy, and increasingly, fewer rights to legal review.

While I prepared to write a sliver about the country’s current immigration conundrum, the Israel-US-led attack on Iran is laying the groundwork for more migration. The global consequences are part of what America calls collateral damage; our country destroys people’s homes and then sees them scurry elsewhere. How much more steady barrage of bullshit will reign down on us?

As a member of a transnational diaspora, I do not take my ability to move about freely as a “given.” My parents planned, sacrificed, and advocated so that I could enjoy the privileges of my passport. As a young immigrant child, I was sheltered from some of these nuances. As an adult, although I have traveled to other countries, it was during my sabbatical in Tokyo during Trump 1.0 that I really began to register the challenges of going abroad for a better life.

If you are among the minority of US citizens with a passport, you might already know what it is like to travel the globe without much planning. The American passport comes with the privilege of countries that allow its bearer to obtain visa-free or visa-on-arrival admission. It is one thing to travel as a tourist; working pursuant to a visa and within legal constraints in the US has a different shape. Being an immigrant in today’s USA has some ugly kinks.

Here, in America, we newer migrants have the struggle to prove our “worthiness,” while older waves of American migrants comfortably see stolen land as their golden ticket. Any reader of this cycling-forward Substack realizes that joy comes from the ability to move around freely from place to place. I deeply value the ability to go where I want, on my own terms. Should you have to be a US citizen to have this type of freedom of movement? Here, I hope to highlight this issue of movement to my fellow readers and cyclists.

Living as an immigrant in America is usually a gateway into car-based living. Most American cities are spread out. For many urbanists, living without a car is a lifestyle-driven choice. In Atlanta, it is a type of luxury or privilege. Our city, Atlanta, takes the cake for urban sprawl. Living your best life here ere basically demands four-wheel transportation.

In Georgia, access to a driver’s license is not determined simply by residence in the state. It also requires having documents to show your right to live in this country. That right is subject to an entire range of nuances like international asylum rights, bureaucratic immigration agency error and/or delay, and the whimsy of an employee-employer relationship. As a result, the local DMV has the power to deny an immigrant the privilege of a driver’s license, which amounts to a limitation on their freedom of lawful movement.

Imagine what it’s like to live in Atlanta without a car, by compulsion. Your range of the city becomes smaller. The entire radius of your town shrinks without legal access to the roads. The repercussions are felt in how you move about in life: getting to work, doing errands, seeing the doctor, and meeting friends will be impacted. Without the ability to cover large distances by car, your access to the city is limited. This is the case for many people who are unable to leave their homes without the protection of a car cage.

If, as an immigrant, you do move around freely, you’re subject to further scrutiny based on your complexion. Across the country, many local law enforcement agencies have signed on to a cooperation agreement with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) known as 287g. As such, many entities collaborate with the detentions on behalf of ICE (ICE Detainers). In Georgia, that has meant that local law enforcement disproportionately picks up or pulls over people of color as a pretext. Many immigrants get flagged for potential detention. This is how many immigrants are swept up into removal proceedings. Non-violent, often ID-related issues, or low-level traffic violations are used to funnel brown bodies into the carceral state. As fewer opportunities are available for bail, immigrants are held in detention while a legal process endures, which is nuanced, expensive, and delayed.

It should not be forgotten that immigration detention is a private industry. There is a whole economy evolved around local jails; local governments make money holding people for the DHS. These private jailers pay counties a per diem. These private companies control the ability to connect with those on the outside. Often, detained immigrants will stay locked up, as on many fronts, the immigration courts are not allowing equitable opportunities to leave on bail while there is a backlog in cases. Our immigration police state enriches the hands of those who own these companies. At the same time, the private jailers also concurrently lobby for stricter immigration control, directly lining their pockets as a result of the suffering of working people.

The continued repercussions of imprisonment fail to see the holistic picture. Though immigrants are needed here, they are not welcome. Our economy is powered by the labor of those who fill roles in agriculture, run a kitchen, program software, and care for our kids. While they work hard, they do not get to reap the benefits of peaceful living. Shouldn’t safety nets apply to those who cook your food, tend your garden, and care for your children?

The forces of globalization have eased the rules on the movement of money. Concurrently, we in the US have tightened the movement of people. As technology brings us closer together, our immigration policy fails to consider the repercussions on the global working class. The economic consequences are evident; everywhere, we are tightening our belts. The added financial pressure leads to an uptick in immigration from those who are drawn to the US for economic reasons. Ultimately, the bombs we drop, the sanctions we impose, and the tariffs we impose have a way of showing up at our doorstep.

Further Reading:

• Report Date 01/27/26: US Senator for Georgia Jon Ossoff’s Office Report of Human Rights Violations at detention centers: https://www.ossoff.senate.gov/press-releases/new-sen-ossoff-investigation-uncovers-over-1000-credible-reports-of-human-rights-abuses-in-immigration-detention/

• Recorded 01/26/26: Webinar by Project South On The History of Immigrant Repression and Resistance in Georgia, Part of a Series by Project South, including long-time local organizers: Casa Alterna and El Refugio

• Georgia Budget and Policy Institute Report on Role of immigrant enforcement and detention https://gbpi.org/welcomed-yet-not-welcome-exploring-georgias-role-in-immigration-enforcement-and-detention/ & https://gbpi.org/voluntary-immigration-enforcement-a-costly-choice-for-georgia-communities/

• Politico Article: On Asylum Seekers https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/10/31/migrants-asylum-immigration-court-00622991

• Recorded 2/12/2026: Haymarket Books Panel Abolish ICE; Abolish the Border

Local Groups to Support:

• Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR) educates and organizes the Latino community: https://glahr.org/community-safety/

• GAIN Georgia Asylum & Immigration Network

• El Refugio supports immigrants at Stewart Detention Center and their loved ones through hospitality, visitation, support, and advocacy.

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