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Editor’s note: The following speech was written as part of Alma de Mar’s recent Frederick Douglass Public Speaking Competition. Two students chose to focus on immigration and recent ICE activity and shared their presentations with The Light. You’ll find Joran’s speech here.
Soy Latina. Immigration is an issue that affects me, you, and all of us one way or another. Families work tirelessly to build better lives, yet they are being separated from the very people they sacrifice their blood, sweat, and tears for. Our very own parents have worked hard to support us, to give us opportunities they never had. They deserve dignity, respect, and a fair chance.
No one should be deported without due process. Our people came to the United States seeking freedom, opportunity, and a future built on hard work. Yet, instead of being rewarded for our perseverance, we are being torn from our homes, from our loved ones. ICE raids strip families of their security, placing parents in chains and subjecting them to cruelty and violence. Imagine working day and night, providing for your children, only to have everything taken from you in an instant.
No family deserves this pain. No family deserves this fear. Necesitamos estar juntos con nuestra familia.
Our families have sacrificed everything for us. My father came to the U.S. when my grandmother was dying, hoping to help, but he was caught and deported back to Guatemala. He didn’t give up, he couldn’t, he had no other choice. He tried again. With the help of my Tio Adrian, he made it back. Today, my father works tirelessly to support our family, and my uncle runs the organization Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores, which is dedicated to helping immigrants advocate for their rights. My grandmother died when my mother was only 4. At the age of 12, the age I am today, she came to the U.S. on her own. She left her whole world behind, for nothing more than the chance of freedom and equality.
Our people deserve freedom. We all deserve equality. Yet here we stand, we are judged, not by the content of our character, but by our outward appearance, our language, our status. ICE is showing up at our schools, our jobs, our neighborhoods, turning places of hope into places of fear.
Immigrants already face immense challenges — language barriers, workplace discrimination, and dangerous conditions — yet instead of protecting us, the system which we once believed in punishes us.
We will not be silent. We will not stop fighting. We are here. We belong. And we will stand together. Estamos juntos.
Kiara is a middle school student at Alma del Mar in New Bedford.
Joran and Kiara have brought what is happening so close to home. We, as voters have brought this on by electing such a vile hate filled administration. This is more than an embarrassment. Shame on us.