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After the bell rang to go home, one kid didn’t get to go home to do homework or eat dinner with his family. He was taken by ICE at his school. While other students walked to buses and cars, he was sent away to Texas, far away from “his” family. His father was taken too. A family was broken apart. No warning. No goodbyes. Just fear in all of their eyes.
This is not just one story. It is a reminder of how immigrants are being treated in this country. ICE uses the term “illegal alien” to label Latin PEOPLE, as if they are not human. That label takes away honor. It makes it easier to ignore the pain, the tears and the families left behind. People are more than a label. They are parents, children, workers and neighbors.
ICE targets people of color more than anyone else. Many immigrants are stopped, questioned and taken because of how they look or the language they speak. It sends a message that some people do not belong here, even when they have lived here for years and done nothing wrong.
Immigrants do the jobs many Americans do not want to do. They work long hours in the fields, in kitchens, on construction sites, and cleaning buildings late at night. They help keep this country running. They pay taxes. They raise families. They contribute every single day, even while living in fear of being taken away.
In many Hispanic households, everyone works two or three jobs to raise their kids and pursue the American dream. I was raised to believe we had to work harder than everyone else. Maybe not everyone believes in the American dream that was sold to immigrants anymore because of everything that is going on.
But everything immigrants did was paid in full with blood, sweat and tears. Immigrants built this country and made it what it is today.
At the same time, all Americans are starting to feel their rights slipping; freedom of speech feels limited when people are scared to speak up. Rights feel weaker when the government can take someone without giving them a fair chance.
Immigrants have always been part of America. They built this country, shaped its culture, and made it strong. Their stories matter. Their lives matter. America is not America without them.
