Tricycle Talks Reimagining the Story of Citizenship with Daisy Hernández
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Mar 18, 2026 Daisy Hernández, associate professor and author exploring immigration and belonging. She traces her family’s immigration stories, treats citizenship as a social myth, and links U.S. policy to migration. She discusses criminalization, healthcare fears, movements that expand belonging, and how Buddhist practice and Thich Nhat Hanh help her cope with political despair.
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Bedtime Stories That Taught Citizenship
- Daisy Hernández learned about immigration at bedtime hearing her mother's anxious stories about paperwork and raids.
- She remembers phrases like arreglando sus papeles and overheard family fear, framing citizenship as a private adult secret.
U.S. Foreign Policy Creates Migration
- The U.S. involvement in Latin America created migratory flows so deep that scholars say "we are here because you are there."
- Daisy ties 1980s Central American civil wars and U.S. imperial policies directly to subsequent waves of migration to the U.S.
Citizenship Operates Like A Social Identity
- Citizenship functions like race or gender: it shapes where you feel safe and what services you can access.
- Daisy shows healthcare access as a concrete mechanism where green card status, state policy, and federal rules produce unequal care.
