It’s time for Americans to trust other people

Trust and distrust are multilayered realities. They are interpersonal practices, but they are also shaped by culture. Sometimes distrust becomes a general orientation, when we learn to view certain categories of people with suspicion and fear. Such distrust is supported by stereotypes and by shared selective “knowledge” about the high risks of trusting such people. It is also encoded in laws and policies that attempt to monitor or control them.

The effects of this sort of distrust are visible at the U.S. southern border, where people from Central and South America are arriving in large numbers to seek a home. These migrants have become the targets of categorical distrust—as seen in the very fact that their collective appeal for asylum is framed as a crisis.

The Trump administration shares this view with some of its outspoken critics: these people are poor, yes, but also undeserving of asylum—and they are disrespecting our laws. While long-standing asylum policies allow for peaceful entry to await a hearing, our government now tells us it is foolish to adhere to this, given the risks.