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Episode 7 | Care, Not Cages: Migration, Community, and the Fight for Belonging
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Resources to support people and families impacted by ICE raids.
Recorded during a wave of ICE raids in Los Angeles, this urgent episode asks what it means to truly belong in a country built on migration. Katie Smith and Beth Rudden open up about personal stakes, political theater, and the manufactured crises threatening immigrant families today.
From the roots of religious freedom to the metaphor of invasive species, they explore how narratives—about borders, safety, and identity—are shaped, distorted, and weaponized. This is a conversation about witnessing injustice, honoring complexity, and anchoring into the future we want to build.
With stories of community resilience, artistic resistance, and civic power, Beth and Katie challenge us to rethink ownership, accountability, and care.
🔑 Topics Covered:
- ICE raids in LA and the real-time impact on families and neighborhoods
- The role of the National Guard, state sovereignty, and political overreach
- Migration as a natural force, not a crisis
- *Artistic metaphors: seeds, invasive species, and stories as resistance
- Religion, freedom, and misunderstanding across political lines
- Psychological and social healing in post-colonial societies
- Local power: sheriffs, judges, and community-led safety
- Why paid organizers matter—and who actually benefits from unrest
- Redefining ownership as accountability
- Imagining belonging as the anchor for a just future
Artists mentioned:
- Maria Thereza Alves and her work Seeds of Change
- Jenny Yurshansky and her work on the themes of what is to be a refugee
- Patrisse Marie Khan-Cullors Brignac who leads work around Care not Cages
📌 Key Takeaways:
- Migration is fundamental to life; borders are human inventions.
- Care must replace cages—at every level of society.
- Belonging is not a luxury; it's the condition for collective thriving.
- Local governance is where real power—and real accountability—lives.
- Artists, organizers, and everyday people are already building the future we need.
⏱️ Chapters (Timestamps):
- 00:00 ICE Raids and the Politics of Manufactured Crisis
- 06:00 The National Guard, Local Power, and Historical Echoes
- 12:00 Migration, Metaphor, and the Wisdom of Artists
- 18:00 Religion, Identity, and the Stories We Tell
- 25:00 Seeds, Borders, and the Absurdity of Lines
- 32:00 What Belonging Really Means
- 38:00 Digital Solidarity and the Arab Spring
- 44:00 Paid Organizers, Real Protest, and Who Benefits
- 50:00 Liberty Hill Foundation and Local Mutual Aid
- 52:00 Anchoring to a Future of Equity, Accountability, and Care
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