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Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie

@ripperelse.bsky.social

1.6K followers 510 following 9.2K posts

44 year old stay at home cat dad. Disabled. Adores almost everyone and I have a playful nature. Aggie was a badass who survived fires unscathed. Passed on August 2023. Rollie is new family, a curious and ridiculous fellow, 4 yo. Chinga la migra.

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Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie @ripperelse.bsky.social · Apr 26

If you go to jail and can be written to in that jail, because you resist this government in some way, or oppose ICE in some way: I will write to you for the duration.

Feel free to tell a lawyer, or a random person, to get in touch with me and I'll make sure to write you as regularly as possible.

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Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie @ripperelse.bsky.social · 4h

I heard they have a whole lab of modules

Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie @ripperelse.bsky.social · 5h

I don't know what modules are but I'll find someone for you ASAP.

P.S. are you able to relocate to Antarctica?

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Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie @ripperelse.bsky.social · 5h

and that may well have been when your grandparents came through!!!

Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie @ripperelse.bsky.social · 5h

If these are not insults, then I'd hate to be insulted by you.

Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie @ripperelse.bsky.social · 5h

And from 1940 to 1954 Ellis was still open but acting under the Alien Registry Act which means they DID give identity papers. This is just not when most people are talking about. But I wanted to include this. Ellis functioned more how people imagined it did for this brief window in it's lifetime.

Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie @ripperelse.bsky.social · 5h

I offer this only in that I hope it gives some clarity about how... unclear it can all quickly become. And these legal processes could be opaque to immigrants, and misunderstood (through no fault of their own), or different parts conflated. That's not dishonesty.

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Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie @ripperelse.bsky.social · 5h

After 1940 the Alien Registration act required people over 14 to be fingerprinted and identified at ports of entry, changing the system.

Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie @ripperelse.bsky.social · 5h

it's in this way that the names on manifests (rarely changed by Ellis but still occasionally altered, and obviously recorded and quite possibly changed at port of departure) became tied to the names in a person's official documents - through naturalization.

Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie @ripperelse.bsky.social · 5h

But if you did not apply for citizenship, no one would ever know what name you had once you were in the US. Ellis didn't give ID documents or anything. You were just free to say you were whoever you wanted. No proof needed until you wanted to naturalize.

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Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie @ripperelse.bsky.social · 5h

When you applied for naturalization (citizenship) the paperwork required name, place of birth, date of birth. Giving your name by way of proof you could reference the shipping manifest records kept at places like Ellis Island. That might well be the only proof of name you have.

Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie @ripperelse.bsky.social · 5h

so here's a brief set of notes to hopefully help with clarity

From 1906 on there was a standardized set of papers to fill out if you wanted to become a citizen. Immigration locations like ellis would keep passenger manifest records that alone didn't do anything. But

Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie @ripperelse.bsky.social · 6h

you can get a grilled cheese for just 12 dollars! lolol

Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie @ripperelse.bsky.social · 6h

Which is bullshid. Obviously Smilla desired higher quality service!

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Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie @ripperelse.bsky.social · 6h

after 1920 i'm not really sure

Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie @ripperelse.bsky.social · 6h

yeah this is correct, pre 1920 or so.

Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie @ripperelse.bsky.social · 6h

Facts may be distractions to you. But they're not to me.

I've been accused of pedantry many times, yes. I don't doubt whatsoever that you see me that way. What is pedantic is based on what you think is excessive. That's subjective I think.

I've heard you. You don't need to keep insulting me.

Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie @ripperelse.bsky.social · 6h

Before 1920 Ellis was to screen people for illness and disability (as they were conceived of at the time).If you passed the screening you were sent through to America without documentation, no papers, no particular records. There wasn't ID as we think of it now. No idea of name transferred off EI.

Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie @ripperelse.bsky.social · 6h

Ellis didn't provide documents or identification to the people who went through. No one would have had any idea they said yes to Feldman once they were in the US proper.

It would not have followed them unless they kept using that name, maybe because they believed they were supposed to.

Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie @ripperelse.bsky.social · 6h

It just moves the change from inside Ellis back to the passenger lists, or forward to another interaction with the government. It doesn't deny it happened, just the detail of who in particular did it.

Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie @ripperelse.bsky.social · 6h

Yeah. That's why I feel the need to do it. I just also always flinch.

Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie @ripperelse.bsky.social · 6h

No. I know it's not a quirk. The compulsion (using this word loosely) is because I think it's the right thing to do. That people can include facts and corrections and that this does not undermine other people - it doesn't undermine me when done to me.

Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie @ripperelse.bsky.social · 6h

Doesn't work at all. <3

Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie @ripperelse.bsky.social · 6h

i love him

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Reposted by Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie

JC died ten years ago this very night @conductress.bsky.social · 18h

Ribbly Scarn, y'all

A gray striped cat with a white face and belly on the stairs, looking to his left

A gray striped cat with a white face and belly, looking through the bannister, paw up because he was making air biscuits

A gray striped cat with a white face and belly sticking his head through the bannister

A gray striped cat with a white face and belly doing a massive MLEM

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Philip and Rollie TF, rememberer of Aggie @ripperelse.bsky.social · 6h

yeah I listened to an anthropologist review the book and the first 70k pages made them insane with stuff like this