A contagion of “invasion” rhetoric is poisoning the atmosphere, as Republicans increasingly use this and similar words to stir up fears about immigration and the future of the U.S.

As Jazmine Ulloa of the New York Times notes, in a few short years, “the word [invasion] has become a staple of Republican immigration rhetoric,” not only tolerated, but deployed repeatedly and to deeply harmful ends.

Here’s the problem:

This language dehumanizes people seeking safety.

It aims to generate fear among Americans who may feel left behind for other reasons (such as corporate greed, systemic racism, or rampant individualism).

It has been used to try to justify senseless acts of violence in the U.S. (including deadly attacks on communities in Pittsburgh, PA, El Paso, TX, and Buffalo, NY, among others).

It can be difficult to respond to this rhetoric: saying nothing normalizes it, repeating it may amplify its intended effects. But faced with such fear-mongering, it is important to affirm the truth:

  • The border is not open. Those wanting to enter and remain in the U.S. must still follow the law. At the same time, without more resources allocated by Congress to border processing and immigration courts, backlogs will continue to occur. People forced to remain in limbo in unsafe circumstances will continue to be vulnerable to those seeking to take advantage of them.
  • The U.S. is not being invaded by a hostile force. People new to this country want what all Americans want: safety, a decent place to live and raise our families, the chance to make a living, to contribute to the world, and to know that we and our loved ones belong.

Inoculate yourself and those you love against this toxic rhetoric. Speak the truth: we need not fear newcomers. Instead, we need to recognize our shared humanity, and stand in solidarity with all who seek safety and lives of dignity and well-being.

To maintain orderly and humane processes at our ports of entry and in our courts, we as a society need to invest the funds necessary. Higher walls will not stem the movement of people in search of safety. Instead, we need to lengthen our table and add more chairs.

We need to understand the factors that are compelling people to flee their homes, and face the hard truths about how our own desires for comfort, convenience and cheap goods have led us to destabilize the government of other countries and take more than our fair share of the world’s resources.

We have everything to gain from supporting legal pathways to immigration and welcoming those who want to integrate into and contribute to communities across the U.S. Let’s use our words and energy to affirm these truths.