Your story is a disturbing parallel to modern immigrant stories in the US

I'm also one of them. I'm here in the US right now, I know how it is.

When I had Chinese Language class in the US when I was in highschool (it was a mandatory world language thin where you need 2 credits), I remember there was a presentation thing that I have to introduce myself in Chinese (which I already know lol, that's why I picked it over spanish), I told the class my family immigrated to the US when I was 8, then I think some kids whose parents are from Fujian were shocked my family came legally. Judging by their reaction, I think some of them, well, their parents at least, were probably unauthorized or maybe they struggled to get legal status. I think the kids themselves were born here, or at least they never admitted that they themselved came without permission, so I assume they are born here. One of my classmates, he was an acquaintance of mine (I wouldn't really call a "friend") and he told me his dad got into a bar fight and got deported... so he is just dadless... I felt kinda guilty my family is still together.

The first few years in the US, yea that was rough. I was in Brooklyn. My parents signed me up for afterschool programs so they can work longer. Basically treated that as free childcare lol. I remember that day when the first day of afterschool programs start. It was tuesdays and thursdays from dismissal at 3PM to 4 PM. My mom forgot to tell me.

So I, didn't speak english at the time, I kinda just cried for an entire hour... I'm seeing this in my memory... like in 3rd person view and I just remember that scene. Didn't know what was going on, I thought I got in trouble for something. Like... poor kid, I feel bad just observing the memory.

Later on, the afterschool stuff expanded to some ESL classed to like 4:45PM on tues and thurs days. Then I got added to some non-profit Chinese American afterschool program thing... and that was the part I kinda hated the most. A lot of ethnic Chinese kids. Lots of them ABCs ("American-born Chinese"). Their parents are probably busy working too.

I basically remained quiet for the first two years of this. I only talked to kids that spoke Cantonese. Just being invisible for the rest of the time.

Later on, when I learned some English, I still kinda kept my shy personality. Even the English-only ABCs that were foreign to me. I remember some of them bullied me. I still, sort of, remember some of their faces.

I often got picked up last at school. That scene is sad when I recall the memory. 6:30 PM, the clock continues ticking, sky getting dark.

I remember the sun just gone from the sky by the time my mom and I got to our front door of the rented house.

The healthcare thing... yea... I'm trying to find a psychaitrist right now... it sucks... Hard to find one that's taking new patients and also take your insurance.

A few years ago. My dad had some stomach issue and went to the hospital for like a few months, the bill was so big lmao. Like I think the bill was 4 or 5 digits before the decimal point or something. Luckily, we were insured. Still not a small sum, even then.

That said, overall, our lives improved after we came to the US (we moved around 2010). As for the undocumented... oh yea that's fucked. I could imagine the families being torn apart. I remember my classmates situation. I bet some of their families probably got separated under this admin's cruel crackdowns. We got very lucky to be able to just come here legally.

Its really only an issue in the context of capitalism.

I mean, yes but also a massive portion of our entire society is propped up on the back of capitalism whether we like it or not, we can't pull the rug out from the hospitals, the services, people's food and so on. There are a lot of people who think that a population crash will be good for us but if system crashes too fast, it won't be an issue of not having new iphones and labubu's, it will be an issue of not having antibiotics and rubber products like the washers in syringes and the company that makes the single bearing you need to keep your heater on in winter closed their doors years ago and the grocery store is almost empty and you haven't heard any noise from your elderly neighbor's house in three days, and is that gunfire again? It's not an apocalyptic event but a withering of life and progress.

The damage that a collapse can cause can outweigh any long-term benefits and even last too long and hard for any better systems to even have a chance of taking root. Our logistics network is simultaneously the most impressive thing we've ever built and the most fragile, and it's also what we rely on to a degree that should have scared everyone when a single cargo ship blocking a canal almost brought the world to a stop.

I am just trying to say that it's a real issue that every nation is going to have to start bracing for with the same gravity as climate change because the consequences can lead to a lot of unnecessary suffering. I wish more people other than the very worst people were taking it seriously and preparing for the strain.

There are people who move to China to become "professional white guys" where you hang out with socialites and drink and make them look good by being their "white associate" which is a big deal in some social circles. Literally that's all you do.

The catch: you need to be really familiar with China, fluent in the language, and fluent in the culture and have some connects. You should probably also be somewhat attractive or at least know style and be fit.