Why Some Young Activists Are Dedicating Their Vote To Immigration

Ricardo Chavez, a 17-year-old activist from Oklahoma, says the one thing that will matter most to him any time as soon as he casts his first-ever vote in the November general election is immigration. He’s not alone, either, given that he says his parents derived their citizenship in 2019. “It'll be my first time voting this year, although it'll also be both of my parents' first time voting,” he tells MTV News. “I think that's really cool, and I'm very excited have the ability to take them with me to the polls.”


Some candidates promise to uphold the Delayed Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and pass a DREAM Act that would establish a path to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of people who have only ever called America house — although other candidates have much hard to notice policies and platforms. Undocumented people, and people who are not nevertheless citizens, cannot vote, however they have allies in a growing cohort of young people like Gabriel Madison and Ana Cruz, two 17-year-old first-time voters from the Washington, D.C., Area.


“We can't don't think about the mistakes that we made in the past, and we can't sit by while mistakes continue to be made,” Gabriel tells MTV News. “We have to actively and consciously work towards a higher class of future for our community.” Ana says she’s voting because she wants her family member to “be able to live their lives without fear.”


All three young folks are members of United We Dream Action, an immigrant youth-led community that campaigns for immigrant rights. They were among those who rallied outdoor the seventh Democratic primary debate in Iowa on January 14, calling for former Vice President Joe Biden to promise a moratorium on all deportations in his first 100 days in office. For now, only Senator Bernie Sanders has made such a pledge; Senator Elizabeth Warren has said she’s open to it. Biden’s immigration policy centers a task to undo the damage wrought by President Donald Trump’s administration, and promises to reform the American immigration system that every candidate agrees is in need of change.


"Vice President Biden recognizes the pain that comes with this conversation. Deportations aren’t just information or numbers or talking points: they are fathers, mothers, and family member companions Biden’s National Press Secretary Jamal Brown said in a statement supplied to MTV News. He added that, "As president, Biden will work to create a fair and humane immigration system — restoring the progress Trump has cruelly undone and taking it further. He plans to make sure the dignity of migrants, keep families with each other, and uphold their legal right seek asylum. He is going to enforce our laws without targeting communities, violating due process, or tearing apart families. He plans to make sure our values are squarely at the center of our immigration and enforcement policies.”


There’s good reason candidates are paying attention to immigration reform: As the Washington Post notes, it is one of the best issues most crucial to millennials across racial and ethnic backgrounds. Younger Residents of the
U.S. Are also more likely than older Residents of the United States to mention that immigrants are good for the nation, according to a Pew Statistics Center survey from January 2019; 75 percent of millennials and 63 percent of gen Xers believe immigrants strengthen our nation, compared to 53 percent of baby boomers and only 44 percent of Residents of the United States in the Silent Generation.


How those beliefs will influence the 2020 vote remains to be seen, however the footprint of a potentially powerful categorize of electorates in 2020 is undeniable. According to the Atlantic, 18-year-olds and immigrants who become citizens make up most of them of newly eligible voters. And, as a whole, young people believe in the power they have any time casting their vote: A poll by the Associated Press noticed that nearly half of all respondents aged 15 to 34 mention they believe they can have a moderate effect on government, an increase over previous years.


MTV News talks with Ana, Ricardo, and Gabriel about why they're dedicating their first vote ever to immigration, and which politicians they believe are getting the conversation right.


MTV News: Why is immigration your number one supply whenever you go to vote this year?


Ana Cruz: First of all because of my mother. She's undocumented, she came here from Bolivia with a working visa. And as soon as it expired, she eventually met my father and so they had me. My father, he came from El Salvador because of the drastic earthquake that impacted his residence in 2001 and ever since.


Editor’s note: In 2018, the Trump administration reported it would rescind the Short-term Protected Status (TPS) granted to Salvadoran people; the administration extended its deadline by per year in October 2019.


Ricardo Chavez: My parents and my sisters were undocumented for a big portion of my life. Being surrounded by the immigrant community certainly shaped a lot of things I did, and my view on life. In 2018, I began doing community organizing and activist work, and have dedicated a big chunk of my life to the immigrants’ rights movement as a whole. I'll be fortunate enough to have the privilege to vote for the initial time ever this year. So I'm certainly keeping an eye out on all of the policies and issues that these candidates are talking about.


MTV News: What would a brilliant candidate's position be on immigration? 


Ana: That they'll cut funding for ICE and CBP along with stopping deportation. Although most importantly, make sure the protection of all immigrants, those who have DACA and TPS. Along with [providing a] pathway to citizenship for them, and being able to prepare possibilities for people who are coming here for a higher end lifestyle.


Ricardo: An ideal candidate could be someone who is bold in their commitment and upfront with their solidarity and their commitment to the immigrant community. Someone who is ready to commit to ending all deportation, someone who's prepared to end and defund companies that have been targeting and dehumanizing the immigrant community, like ICE and CBP, and just in general, someone who is going to commit and put in the work for the immigrant community and finding ways to offer protections for all immigrants. Not just ones that fit in this ideal narrative of the “good immigrant,” however all immigrants.


MTV News: Do you feel like there really are any candidates who are getting it right, right now?


Ricardo: I was following Julián Castro, and I was really invested in what he had to allocate. I think he was doing a good job in talking about immigration and being very bold and upfront with what he wanted to do, and his vision was certainly something and I was ready to support. I was a little bit disappointed whenever he backed that out from the race. Now, I think I'm just looking to be able to see another candidate who's prepared to put in as much work and dedication to the immigrant community and has a similar [position].


Gabriel Madison: I can't really mention that I believe any candidate has a comprehensive training on how to completely treat migrants. [We require a candidate who will promise to] give them the rights that we deserve... And shut off the concentration camps across the United States.


Ana: What I'm really focused on is that we need candidates like Joe Biden to make sure the protection of the immigrant community... First, they can begin by closing the concentration camps. There has been a lot of children, a lot of people that have died there due to diseases and they've been neglected. And it's just very inhumane that they exist today. And also cutting funding for ICE and CBP. I think that's a step in beginning to protect the immigrant community, to help them.


MTV News: What do you want people to take away from the discussion surrounding immigration?


Ana: I hope that the new president is able to help the immigrant community. I want my family member have the ability to live their lives without fear because they have been here for so several years. It makes me irritated that my mother or someone just like me, in the same position, they have to live like this. I just hope that there can be a pathway to citizenship along with that all immigrants are protected by this new president and that the separation of families comes to an end.


Ricardo: I think the largest thing is that our liberation is tied. I'm privileged enough to be a U.S. Citizen, yet I cannot be liberated as a queer man up until my immigrant community is liberated, up until my population of color is liberated, up until all folks are liberated. I think that looking forward [requires] showing solidarity for one another and being here for one another in our times of need. To reject the hateful rhetoric and hateful agendas towards misrepresented communities, and to stand with each other and show solidarity for one another.


Gabriel: We'll be ready for the opening time, and we are voting to symbolize ourselves and our community who cannot vote for themselves. We’re amplifying the voices of our community.