Fort Worth, Texas: A few weeks ago, I spoke with an anonymous undocumented student who started to become emotional when talking about her concerns for herself and her family. This unnamed student is like many Mexican immigrant students on the DACA program, hoping to get an education to help them succeed in their chosen career path. In this student’s response to my questions about the President’s opinion on DACA and immigrants for Mexico, they responded in a pleading tone,” Not all immigrants are criminals, not all immigrants are bad people. Unfortunately, I do have DACA. Still, we live with the fear that one day we won’t be able to be here anymore, MY RECORD IS CLEAN!”. The fear of losing their status was becoming overwhelming at that moment. However, they still had it in them to offer President Trump the opportunity for redemption, saying,” I hope with time, he can reflect on his beliefs about us and accepts us because that is all we want; we want to be here work, pay taxes and contributing to society and economy. “. This is a fitting synopsis of what an immigrant family in America is here for and what they want out of life. This is just one story of many across Texas who are living in fear under Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s new regime.
One of the most heartbreaking stories comes from Gainesville, Texas. In late January, rumors of mass deportations were at an all-time high after President Trump used his campaign to terrorize immigrants with threats of doing just that. Those rumors were spread even faster, with many unknowingly re-sharing posts with no credibility warning others of deportations happening in their town.
The fear among the immigrant community was and still is at an all-time high. Sadly, 11-year-old student Jocelynn Rojo Carranza lost her life in the chaos and confusion. Young Jocelynn took her own life, and many believe she was relentlessly bullied by classmates who told her she would be alone when her parents were deported back to Mexico. This horrifying incident is still under investigation, and the victim’s parents hope the school is held responsible for not reporting the bullying to them until after their daughter committed suicide. I believe our President was her biggest bully and has a young, innocent life on his hands; he perpetrates this sort of hate and chaos in our neighborhoods, schools, and homes. A few days ago, a concerned teacher in Fort Worth said one of his students asked him if she was deported and if she could bring her dog. Again, we have to protect our children. It is time to act.
The rallies and protests that have been happening across Texas have been an impressive show of support for the immigration community. Different communities and folks from all walks of life outraged by Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration policies made sure their voices were heard and stood up for those who might be too afraid to speak out. Now that Americans know where we stand on this issue, we can move on to the next phase. Action. How can we help? One way is to write your state representatives about the dangers of aggressive immigration policies; the next is to vote at every local and national election. Hola Texas is creating a central hub for business owners and lawyers to offer services to those in need. More on that soon.
Let’s not stop at the steps of Arlington City Hall or Fort Worth, Dallas City Hall. Let’s take this fight to their front doors by electing lawmakers who care about immigrants and getting rid of the ones who don’t. Change can happen, but it is up to us.
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