6 Lies About Immigration They Want Our Children To Believe
And what to teach our kids instead.
Masked ICE agents have been storming the streets of our nation, and now they’ve arrived in New York City, causing havoc and terror. Throngs of enraged New Yorkers are making it clear that ICE is not welcome anywhere in our country.
Yesterday, I saw this unfolding on the news as I hustled the kids home from steelpan practice and into the bath (yes, the younger one still fights bath-time every night like clockwork and then refuses to get out of said bath). I started to think about all the big untruths about immigration that are fed to us—and our children—with the hope of making us see stark differences between the people getting kidnapped off the streets and ourselves.
What can we, as parents, do to interrupt these harmful narratives aimed at dividing our communities and our children? Here are 6 bold lies it seems this administration would love for our kids to believe about immigration to further their xenophobic agenda—and conversation starters to support parents in helping kids process what is happening.
LIE #1: Borders are natural.
Borders were built to divide us and make us think we have less in common with people from other countries, entrenching inequitable hierarchies of power, positionality and privilege. These borders are often the result of colonization and land theft, defined by people whose agendas did not involve co-existing peacefully with others.
Conversation Starter: Borders are manmade and they are often made up by those with more power than others. Let’s get creative! What would you do instead of creating borders?
LIE #2: If immigrants just work hard, everything will be fine.
I came to New York as a Trinbagonian in 2002. I arrived on a student visa. I followed the rules. But even after doing everything expected of me, the obstacles were many. Because of my student visa, I could not legally work, so I depended on my extended family’s generosity. Even with limited money, they still managed to give both my sister and I small allowances that would cover our metrocards, food, books and other things we needed. I was a single teenager in NYC with a stable roof over my head and food on the table because of my family. I cannot imagine the experiences of adults with families to take care of who must maneuver all the cultural, financial and systemic challenges as an immigrant. We followed all the rules and yet it was hard. Today, in front of our eyes, immigrants attempting to follow the rules, who work hard are being arrested and dragged off to detention centers.
Conversation Starter: Change is hard no matter if you follow the rules. And sometimes, the rules are often set up to make things harder. What are some rules that exist that make things harder? How would you change them?
LIE #3: Undocumented immigrants are not good people.
Moving to another country for a better life should be an option afforded to everyone. Because it isn’t, many people are forced to make impossible decisions to keep themselves and their families safe and away from harmful elements. It’s also important to note that labeling undocumented immigrants as “bad people” while this administration (and colonization, neo-liberalism and over-militarization) continues to fuel and finance so much damage worldwide is ironic at best.
Conversation Starter: People should have the right to be safe and to live wherever they would like. Immigration systems make it very hard to move and some people make tough choices to keep themselves and their families safe.
LIE #4: Immigration is easy if you do what they say.
When NYC Comptroller Brad Lander was arrested earlier this year, he was escorting immigrants to their immigration appointments. Many immigrants who are following the process and showing up for their appointments dutifully are being arrested and sent to other countries. The issue is not immigrants. It is the system that responds to those looking to migrate, with limited resources and punitive punishments. Many are following the rules and attempting to have faith in these flawed systems that are failing them.
Conversation Starter: Some people are following the rules and still being hurt. They’re trying to follow the rules. They’re trying to follow the process. And they’re still getting hurt. What rules do you think would make things more fair for immigrants?
LIE #5: They are only targeting immigrants who are criminals.
ICE has been given permission to go into schools to detain children. In Chicago, earlier this month, they zip-tied children to each other after raiding their apartment building and detained them in a van. Children who should be safely buckled into car seats. Children who deserve the assumption of innocence. Children who will be traumatized for the rest of their lives because of these actions. Though they claim to only be detaining criminals, that’s far from reality. As of July 2025, 72% of the people detained by ICE had no criminal convictions. (And some of them are actually American citizens!)
Conversation Starter: ICE is unfortunately not being safe right now. They are hurting people who simply want to live their lives safely in this country.
LIE #6: Kidnapping immigrants off the streets will make us safer.
The absurdity of this administration is never more apparent than in their claim that snatching people off the streets across the country will make the rest of the country safer. This reasoning is meant to make us think that we have more in common with those in power than we do with our immigrant neighbors. This simply isn’t true. As a community, it’s within our power to protect each other and to continue, despite their efforts, to see each other’s humanity. Hundreds of masked ICE agents storming our streets will not make any of us safe and it’s on us to refuse that narrative.
Conversation Starter: ICE does not make us safe. Let’s talk about some things that actually make us safe. (Leave space for your children to answer what they think makes them safe. Some examples are community, loving each other and protecting each other).
In the midst of these awfully treacherous times, parents continue the daunting task of protecting our little ones while teaching them how to be upstanders. ICE and immigration may seem like big topics to explain to our kids, but it remains necessary—even as these unjust elements invade our children’s safe spaces. Our kids are hearing about this whether we bring it up with them or not, whether by witnessing something firsthand or by overhearing an older kid or by seeing something on social media. As an immigrant mama, I have no choice but to talk with my kids in age-appropriate ways about the realities of immigration and ICE. All parents can have these conversations in ways that can help our kids feel more empowered and more clear on what your family values are.
That’s it from me for today. Take good care and look out for each other, okay?
Tabitha