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Beyond Papers: The Human Cost of Immigration Policy
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"They knew what they were doing" - five words that cloak inhumanity in the disguise of justice. Every time I hear this phrase used to dismiss the suffering of immigrants caught in our broken system, something inside me recoils. Not just because it's callous, but because it's incomplete.
Today's episode cuts through the rhetoric to expose one of the most persistent and harmful myths about immigration. Drawing from my personal journey through the labyrinthine process of "legal" immigration as a child separated from my parents, I invite listeners into the chaotic reality of endless paperwork, bureaucratic obstacles, and impossible choices that define our immigration system. This isn't about politics - it's about policies that fail human beings.
I share the harrowing story of Mark Daniel Lyttle, a US citizen with bipolar disorder who was wrongfully deported to Mexico simply because of how he looked. For 125 days, he wandered homeless through Latin America until someone finally helped him return home. His story isn't an anomaly - it's a devastating glimpse into what happens when enforcement trumps humanity, when paperwork matters more than people.
Read more here
The truth? Being undocumented is not a crime - it's a civil violation, like a parking ticket. Over 70% of people in ICE custody have no criminal record whatsoever. Yet our rhetoric criminalizes their very existence, giving permission to stop seeing immigrants as fellow human beings worthy of dignity and basic rights. This dehumanization doesn't just hurt the undocumented - it threatens all of us. Because once a system gets comfortable deciding who deserves rights and who doesn't, that list only expands.
Join me in asking better questions: Why did we build a system where someone's worth depends on a document? Why are we okay with punishing people for seeking safety and opportunity? And what might happen if we remembered that before anyone is documented or undocumented, they are human - just like us?
Want to dig deeper?
Data & Reports:
- “Nearly half of ICE detainees have no criminal record; 71.7% as of June 15, 2025”
- “Only ~8% of detainees
Support the show
If today’s episode hit you in the chest the way it hit me, don’t just walk away—walk toward something that reflects you.
Subscribe to the podcast, hit that YouTube channel for the behind-the-scenes, and if you’re ready to read a story about what it really means to come home to yourself—
👉🏽 Preorder The Ordinary Bruja.
https://haveacupofjohanny.com/product/the-ordinary-bruja-book-one-of-las-cerradoras-series-j-e-ortega/
It’s about a Dominican-American bruja who’s been running from herself her whole life until ancestral magic, generational wounds, and a haunted-ass hill force her to face the truth.
If you’ve ever felt “too much,” “not enough,” or like you don’t fit anywhere, you’re exactly who this story was written for.
🎙️ Subscribe.
📺 Follow on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2SRDePbyy8M85Wbf25VUCg
📚 Preorder The Ordinary Bruja. https://haveacupofjohanny.com/product/the-ordinary-bruja-book-one-of-las-cerradoras-series-j-e-ortega/
Because becoming who you are is the bravest kind of magic.
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By Johanny Ortega
5
11 ratings
Send us a text
"They knew what they were doing" - five words that cloak inhumanity in the disguise of justice. Every time I hear this phrase used to dismiss the suffering of immigrants caught in our broken system, something inside me recoils. Not just because it's callous, but because it's incomplete.
Today's episode cuts through the rhetoric to expose one of the most persistent and harmful myths about immigration. Drawing from my personal journey through the labyrinthine process of "legal" immigration as a child separated from my parents, I invite listeners into the chaotic reality of endless paperwork, bureaucratic obstacles, and impossible choices that define our immigration system. This isn't about politics - it's about policies that fail human beings.
I share the harrowing story of Mark Daniel Lyttle, a US citizen with bipolar disorder who was wrongfully deported to Mexico simply because of how he looked. For 125 days, he wandered homeless through Latin America until someone finally helped him return home. His story isn't an anomaly - it's a devastating glimpse into what happens when enforcement trumps humanity, when paperwork matters more than people.
Read more here
The truth? Being undocumented is not a crime - it's a civil violation, like a parking ticket. Over 70% of people in ICE custody have no criminal record whatsoever. Yet our rhetoric criminalizes their very existence, giving permission to stop seeing immigrants as fellow human beings worthy of dignity and basic rights. This dehumanization doesn't just hurt the undocumented - it threatens all of us. Because once a system gets comfortable deciding who deserves rights and who doesn't, that list only expands.
Join me in asking better questions: Why did we build a system where someone's worth depends on a document? Why are we okay with punishing people for seeking safety and opportunity? And what might happen if we remembered that before anyone is documented or undocumented, they are human - just like us?
Want to dig deeper?
Data & Reports:
- “Nearly half of ICE detainees have no criminal record; 71.7% as of June 15, 2025”
- “Only ~8% of detainees
Support the show
If today’s episode hit you in the chest the way it hit me, don’t just walk away—walk toward something that reflects you.
Subscribe to the podcast, hit that YouTube channel for the behind-the-scenes, and if you’re ready to read a story about what it really means to come home to yourself—
👉🏽 Preorder The Ordinary Bruja.
https://haveacupofjohanny.com/product/the-ordinary-bruja-book-one-of-las-cerradoras-series-j-e-ortega/
It’s about a Dominican-American bruja who’s been running from herself her whole life until ancestral magic, generational wounds, and a haunted-ass hill force her to face the truth.
If you’ve ever felt “too much,” “not enough,” or like you don’t fit anywhere, you’re exactly who this story was written for.
🎙️ Subscribe.
📺 Follow on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2SRDePbyy8M85Wbf25VUCg
📚 Preorder The Ordinary Bruja. https://haveacupofjohanny.com/product/the-ordinary-bruja-book-one-of-las-cerradoras-series-j-e-ortega/
Because becoming who you are is the bravest kind of magic.