Latino Immigrants Shared Stories of Heartbreak Under Trump at Wednesday’s DNC

From a mixed-status immigrant family to an 11-year-old whose mother was deported, viewers got first-hand stories on how their lives were turned upside down when Trump was elected.

On Day 3 of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, Latino immigrants shared their story in a theme for the evening fittingly titled “A More Perfect Union.”

Former President Barack Obama, the closing featured speaker last night, began by narrating a video titled “A Letter to Trump on Immigration,” where he tells President Donald Trump, “Mr. President, you tore our world apart.”

Viewers then heard from 11-year-old Estela Juárez, whose mother was deported to México in 2018. Juarez read a letter to President Trump and said to him that despite her father serving the country in the military, he still chose to break up her family. She also said that her father voted for Trump in 2016 but won’t be voting for him in the upcoming election. 

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“He says he won’t vote for you again after what you did to our family. Instead of protecting us, you tore our world apart,” she said. “My mom is a good person and is not a criminal. Now, my mom is gone, and she has been taken from us for no reason at all.”

The evening also featured remarks by the Sánchez Family. Silvia Sánchez is an undocumented immigrant living in North Carolina, with her daughters Jessica, who suffers from spina bifida, and Lucy, a U.S. citizen with two daughters of her own. 

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“I did what any mother would do to save her daughter’s life,” Silvia said in Spanish. “I took my baby in my arms and traveled for days to the border. When we got to the river, I raised her above the water, and we crossed. I couldn’t wait. I had to come at that moment. I was looking for a miracle. I was afraid that we’d be caught, that we’d be deported but I had to save my daughter.” 

Jessica said that she qualifies for the DACA program but that President Trump took her ability to apply. She also said because of her undocumented status she cannot get health insurance. 

“We need a leader that will fix the broken immigration system,” Jessica said. 

Other Latinos featured last night included activist and Parkland survivor Emma González, Governor of New México Michelle Luján Grisham, a performance by Prince Royce, and former United States Secretary of Labor and Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solís. 

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