The Lies We Tell: The Good Immigrant, the Bad Narrative

What makes an immigrant “good”? Is it a clean record? A full-time job? English without an accent? A smile that never complains?

In this episode of The Lies We Tell, I take you on a deep, personal, and political dive into one of the most dangerous myths in American life: the myth of the good immigrant.

We’ll trace the origins of this narrative—from Ellis Island to the modern border, from sitcoms to ICE raids—and expose how it's used to divide communities, justify injustice, and punish people just for surviving. I also share my story—how I came here as a kid, changed my name to fit in, served in the Marines, and still got profiled, doubted, and disrespected.

This isn’t just about immigrants. It’s about what happens when a country demands silence instead of justice.
So ask yourself: Could you survive the system you defend?
Because a lot of us already have. Barely.

🎧 Topics include:

• The “good immigrant vs. bad immigrant” binary

• Hollywood and news media narratives

• The racism hiding behind “speak English”

• Why respectability is a trap

• What the immigration process actually costs

• Personal reflection from my time in school, the Marines, and beyond

📌 Available now on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, and wherever you get your truth.

• USCIS Fee Schedule (as of 2024): https://www.uscis.gov/forms/filing-fees

• National Immigration Law Center: https://www.nilc.org

• American Immigration Council – The U.S. Immigration System Is Complex and Antiquated: https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org

• Migration Policy Institute: “U.S. Naturalization Trends” (2023): https://www.migrationpolicy.org

• Government Accountability Office – Delays in naturalization processing: https://www.gao.gov

• Center for Media and Social Impact – “Race and Immigration in Prime-Time TV”

• Media Matters: “Fox News Obsession with Immigrant Crime” (2019)

• University of Illinois Study (2019): Disproportionate Crime Coverage of Immigrants in Local News

• PBS/FRONTLINE – Lost in Detention

• “The Problem of the Good Immigrant” – The Atlantic, by Jia Tolentino

• “Model Minority Myth” – Teaching Tolerance/SPLC

• Erika Lee, The Making of Asian America

• Yalidy Matos, Brown Threat: Identification and the Latino Threat Narrative in News Media

• OECD Migration Reports (2023): https://www.oecd.org/migration

• Canada’s Language Instruction for Newcomers: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/new-immigrants

• Germany’s Integration Course Program: https://www.bamf.de

• Australia Citizenship Cost Info (gov.au)

• Sweden Migration Agency Fee Chart: https://www.migrationsverket.se

• “What It’s Like to Be a Brown Veteran in America” – personal commentary

• DACA & TPS summaries – National Immigration Forum: https://immigrationforum.org

• Public Charge Rule Overview – Protecting Immigrant Families: https://protectingimmigrantfamilies.org

📚 SOURCES & REFERENCES🔍 Immigration Data & Policy📺 Media Analysis🌍 International Comparisons👁️ Personal Experience & Analysis