Why Latino voters should not give up on this election

We need to stick together


A recent article in the The Guardian explained how Trump is unfavorable amongst Latino voters and the majority of the community. Trump has been the megastar of the election, thanks to his views on the Mexican/U.S. border, immigration, and his apparent love for the Latino community.

His attempt to show his love for the Hispanics, did not go as he planned with his Cinco de Mayo tweet; it was not enough to convince the Latino community that he truly ‘loves’ us.  It’s not like he was quoted saying “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best.

“They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. ”

Trump fans at a rally in California

Despite the fact that he has said these outrageous claims without any evidence that the majority of the undocumented immigrants are ‘criminals’, the Latino community has either decided to not vote in this election or unite together against Trump. But why are we not advocating together more or supporting the groups that are already established that are promoting Hispanics to vote?

In the United States, we have approximately 55 million Latinos, not including the number of undocumented immigrants in the nation as well. Why are we not using our voices to shout loudly and clearly at someone calling our people criminals or rapists? Trump is not alone and his supporters are extremely misinformed with the reasoning of  why Latinos have decided to immigrate into the U.S.

The people who cross the border are the people who are in search of a job, better lifestyle, and a safe environment to live in. The majority of the undocumented immigrants who are in the detention centers have only committed the crime of illegally crossing the border with no other criminal history on their records. When Trump says statements like these, it angers me to hear him judging them for a crime of just wanting a better life. We are not all fortunate like him to have the wealth that the has and if the undocumented immigrants had the chance to study in Ivy League schools and work hard towards a career, they would do it and come on top, just like Trump did.

For this reason, I ask the Latino voters to not lose hope in this election and not decide to vote. Please register to vote. If it’s not for you, then do it for the people who can’t vote because of their legal status. As Latinos, we have the power to stand up and say what we want to! We are turning our backs to our own kind and that is the worst thing you could ever do.

I was told during my trip to El Paso, Texas (a beautiful town by the border), to never forget about the people and their voices. The people from El Paso are the example of hardworking individuals that Trump and his supporters should see if they think undocumented immigrants are truly unlawful.

The people that I have met are not criminals, but hard workers. Despite the judgement that they receive because of their status, they do not let that bring them down. It’s amazing to see people who have been here their whole life and have been through the worst with wage theft from bosses, who refuse to pay them the right amount or even pay them at all and if they choose to report them, the employers threaten them with calling Immigration.

I also met a man who was deported three times, who just wanted to come back to help his family and daughter with a heart condition by working here to support them. In Mexico, he did not make sufficient money to support his family and the child’s healthcare, so he did his best by keeping his faith and just praying that he could somehow make into the U.S. to be the father and husband that he needed to be.

The legal immigration process is expensive and arduous. Also, not forgetting the fact that in many countries such as in Central and South America, the countries are extremely unsafe for themselves and their families. It’s not like they wanted to leave their families, good food and atmosphere to just randomly show up to a brand new country. They didn’t choose to just come to the U.S. for an easy ride. It was a necessity for them and my family aren’t criminals; if anything the only crime we committed is leaving the delicious food for American food (I’m sorry it’s the truth).

Yes, the election is messed up and in our eyes and we could Trump ‘loco’ all we want, but that won’t make a difference. We must unite together like other movements around the country, who have received ten times more coverage than Latino movements.

We are forgetting our roots and letting the people down by not taking charge and voting in the elections. If you hear someone saying that Latinos are criminals, do not just ignore it, say something. We are continuing this cycle by just ignoring what’s going on outside of our circle and not remembering that we CAN do something.

The amount of lost hope and faith that we have on this election is upsetting, but we shouldn’t just stand back. Why did we have to wait for Trump to show up, so we could finally say ‘hey we need a change in the immigration system and it’s not like it was broken ages ago”. We are letting our voices to be silent and not advocating for a change. If other minorities can unite as one for their own issues, then why can’t we do the same? We are the same and they probably know how we are feeling right now too, but we choose to support the other movements than our very own.

From the countless stories that I have been told by the people down in El Paso, they had one moral in each of their stories and that was that their faith and hope that one day, they will be able to stay in this country. Why can’t we have the same faith in our own government, in our own people, and in ourselves, that there will be a change? Latinos are warriors, mi gente. We can’t just give up on our country because some wealthy guy is winning right now; let’s show him that we are not a minority to mess with.