🇺🇸 **[EN] Silent Politics and the Dual Face of Freedom:

🇺🇸 **Silent Politics and the Dual Face of Freedom: Political Subjectivity of Immigrant Women Through Art, Labor, Academia and Neighborhood Life in New York** New York is a city shaped by people arriving from every part of the world. Yet the idea of a city of immigrants often hides what lies beneath. Invisible labor, muted identities and differences that appear softened under the narrative of multiculturalism remain unseen. Immigrant women do not simply participate in this city. They become active agents who transform its cultural, economic, academic and political texture from within. In their stories, politics does not rise from podiums. It appears in school corridors, university campuses, metro exits, apartment stairwells and food lines. They speak through art. They speak through labor. They speak through the neighborhood and through the academy. This study aims to reveal the everyday, embodied and quiet forms of politics that grow outside classical forms of representation. Freedom in the American Context The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects freedom of expression with strong clarity. This protection grants every individual the right to speak regardless of ethnic origin, faith, class or gender identity. The United States offers a wide constitutional space for freedom. Yet freedom becomes meaningful only when it can be practiced in daily life. In academic literature, freedom is understood in two dimensions. The first is negative freedom which means freedom from state interference. The second is positive freedom which means having the capacity to truly exercise this right. Immigrant women may legally have the right to speak. Yet language barriers, economic pressures, discrimination and internal community hierarchies can restrict this right in practice. For this reason, freedom in the United States becomes both an opportunity and a daily effort of persistence. Art as a Carrier of Memory and Identity Art collectives serve as spaces where immigrant women express themselves and create shared testimony. Different parts of New York support distinct forms of artistic production. In the Bronx, mural projects carry collective memory onto the surfaces of the city. In Manhattan, galleries and cultural centers widen the visibility of immigrant creativity. In Harlem, documentary projects retell layered urban histories through the eyes of women. These works are more than individual expressions. They are practices of remembering together and of imagining new futures. The American tradition of free expression provides legal protection, yet cultural differences, language barriers and institutional gatekeeping still form silent walls. Labor and Family: The Visible Resistance of Invisible Work Arlie Hochschild’s concept of the global care chain explains how immigrant women become part of global inequality through domestic labor. In New York, cleaning, childcare and eldercare are often carried out by immigrant women. The city depends on this labor even though it remains invisible. Union structures such as SEIU 1199 create a space for economic struggle and also for political subjectivity. Yet differences in legal status, language and immigration conditions can create unequal experiences even inside union activity. Immigrant women are the backbone of New York’s service and care economy. In Queens, childcare, housecleaning and patient care sustain households and the social reproduction of the city. In Staten Island, eldercare and domestic support help maintain life in areas with high social isolation. In Long Island, the unseen labor behind suburban life is carried largely by women from immigrant communities. This labor contributes economically but also sustains family structures. It supports children’s development, daily life and often the work life of men. The stability of family life frequently depends on women’s multidimensional labor. University Life: The Campus as a Space of Freedom and Identity Universities in New York are both opportunities and challenges. Campuses in Manhattan provide an environment where ideas move freely and artistic production meets academic knowledge. Universities in Brooklyn and Queens offer networks of solidarity for immigrant students and parents. Immigrant women join these spaces as students, as mothers or as members of the community. Some complete their own education. Others support their children’s academic journeys. Universities protect free thought and cultural diversity yet financial cost, language difficulties and cultural adaptation create new forms of inequality. Neighborhood Life: The Map of Solidarity The politics of immigrant women is built not in formal institutions but in kitchens, stairwells, schoolyards and local markets. These structures may be fragile. Trust, shared language and equality are not always easy to form. Yet these small scale relations create one of the most dynamic elements of democratic pluralism. In Brooklyn, night walks create collective responsibility for safety. In the Bronx, food sharing networks serve as a communal defense against poverty. In Queens, school support groups help children access education more equally. In Staten Island, neighborly bonds protect communities from social isolation. These structures support children’s development and strengthen family life. Women remain the central force behind these collective acts. Silence as a Method James C. Scott’s concept of hidden transcripts describes the quiet and collectively shared forms of resistance that remain under the surface. The politics of immigrant women often exists exactly in this space. Silence here is not withdrawal. It is a strategic form of presence. Constitutional freedoms in the United States provide legal ground for this quiet politics. Yet its sustainability depends not only on legal protection but also on social equality and cultural inclusion. Sometimes their politics speaks loudly. At other times it moves quietly. Silence becomes a way of existing in a different register. It becomes protection or transformation from within the community. The Everyday Construction of Freedom Across the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island and Long Island, immigrant women build a quiet form of politics through art, labor, academic life and neighborhood practices. This politics shows both the legal and the practical dimensions of freedom. The American tradition of liberty creates a space for its existence. Sustaining it requires daily collective effort. The quiet politics of immigrant women strengthens the democratic texture of the city and shows that another vision of life is possible. Asmin N. Singez References Fraser, N. (2013). Fortunes of Feminism: From State-Managed Capitalism to Neoliberal Crisis. Verso. Hochschild, A. (2000). Global Care Chains and Emotional Surplus Value. hooks, b. (2000). Feminism is for Everybody. Mohanty, C. T. (2003). Feminism Without Borders. Derks, A. (2008). Migrant Domestic Workers in Global Cities. IOM. SEIU 1199 Reports – Healthcare and care labor in New York.