Liberal education in the United States begins with the premise of inclusion, a response to histories of exclusion of members of marginalised communities. Inclusive practice is developed to validate diverse students by acknowledging and incorporating these students' cultures, languages and histories into regular classroom practice. However, in spite of the best intentions of educators who espouse inclusion as an unequivocal "best practice", inclusive practices in education may inadvertently cause offence and even harm to adult immigrant students. A multi-phase study conducted in New York City with adult immigrant student participants in July 2018 revealed insights and possibilities for alternative thinking in adult education and lifelong learning more broadly. Several findings emerged from the study: (1) participants argued that adult immigrant learners' decisions about how to participate in inclusive activities should be respected; (2) participants experienced offence at being stereotyped in "inclusive" class discussions; and (3) participants found requests to represent their home countries in class invasive or even (re)traumatising. This article explores these findings in depth and generates a new framework for thinking about inclusion in adult education by employing politically engaged concepts of unknowing, politicised trust and collective determination. It explores how education with adult immigrants may take place, in order that these individuals themselves might collaborate in defining how they are included and belong in fulfilment of the highest potential of lifelong learning, not as passive, essentialised "diverse" people, but as agentive contributors in a democratic, liberatory education for all.