MY FEARS ABOUT ICE ARE RATIONAL. MY HISPANIC PRIDE IS TOO.

Throughout recent years, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has taken an aggressive approach to their mission of maintaining ‘national security’. This has involved the wrongful killing of citizens, inhumane detention and deportations. Despite watching horrific events involving ICE occur, many people on social media and even some of my peers believe that fears about this agency are unfounded. As a proud Hispanic student, I believe that recognizing personal fears about ICE is not a sign of weakness, but rather a notion of defiance and reality.  

I remember reading President Donald Trump’s proclamations on using force to “secure the nation from illegal aliens” during his campaign efforts. I have always hated the term “alien” to describe people but I was able to separate the dehumanization from the intended meaning, until now. Now, I know that the word is referencing not just immigrants, but the Hispanic population as a whole, and that welcoming said aliens would be a “travesty.” This realization has been daunting and not without anxiety. 

For a while, ICE felt just far enough away from me to only make me empathetic and angry, not scared. Selfishly, I remember the feeling of impending doom as cases and sightings of ICE drew closer and closer to my community. 

Then, it happened.

Last spring, ICE was on my university’s campus. The agency pulled a man out of his car while his children were in the back seat, waiting to be dropped off at school. This event happened outside my dorm, 5 feet from the bus stop I waited at every day. I remember my Latin American Student Union club’s group chat blowing up. Everyone was filled with fear and anger. 

“Should I still go to class?”

“Are they still on campus?”

“What do I do if they get me?”

Leaders of the club told everyone to keep copies of their Social Security cards and birth certificates on their phones, just in case ICE believed we looked illegal. How can someone look illegal? We all risked our private information knowing that the alternative could be kidnapping, deportation, and even death.

With that being said, more and more incidents involving US citizens, rather than illegal immigrants, have been germinating. This solidified the truth we’d all been wary of: that ICE does not care, nor will it take the time to verify citizenship status. 

However, while this reality is grim, it cannot and will not stop my existence- or anyone’s. I find that in times of fear and animosity the best thing I can do is remind myself that I belong here. We all belong here. Now, more than ever, pride and courage need to be seen and felt from the Hispanic community. 

Do not stop showing up to cultural events. Do not delay holidays or get-togethers. Do not let this hate get in the way of normal life. 

Building up not only myself but my community has evoked sadness and aplomb. Sadness that we are all experiencing this. Aplomb because I know that we will persevere. 

Being scared of force and our reality is completely rational and understandable. With that being said, fear should not inhibit our pride in our cultures, languages, and existence.

• #culture
• #HISPANIC
• #HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH