Fear Grows in the Migrant Community
By: Miguel Hernandez
On August 2nd, Ethnic News Media hosted a press conference titled Migrant Workers Respond to the Rhetoric of Political Hate: “We Are Not Coming to Cause Harm” to calm anxieties among the Latino community due to the current political condition of this country.
The 2024 elections are approaching, and the increase in general fear amongst the migrant community has never been greater. With a Democratic Party whose leading candidate dropped out of the presidential election just three months before Election Day, the reality of having Trump up for a second presidential term is a very real possibility for these communities. Trump’s presidential campaign has consistently used anti-immigrant rhetoric as part of its strategy to unite Americans and instill nationalism among his supporters.
Journalist Manuel Ortiz explained in this press conference that “political hate speech has real-world consequences, especially in communities that are isolated and often invisible, such as migrant workers, who are also the group that guarantees that we have food on our tables.”
Ortiz also shared how there has been a long and constant lineage of hatred towards migrants throughout the history of the United States and how there is currently a culture in which “it is okay to be racist” and people no longer have to watch what they say especially when it comes to the issue of migration.
Ortiz indicated that he conducted in-depth research in Tulelake, California, where he says that “Immigrants are experiencing a feeling of anxiety and fear that even affects their health and that some people are afraid to apply for services such as Medi-Cal. ”
He also noted that his investigation also revealed that in Siskiyou County many mothers from agricultural families have reported several cases of bullying against their children. Ortiz points out that this is directly related to the moment when Donald Trump became president of this country in 2017, and with this increased anti-immigrant rhetoric, that is now becoming normalized. Ortiz also interviewed a worker from the farm working community, Juana Chamoya, who has worked in the fields for most of her life, she mentioned: “We feel attacked and discriminated against by Donald Trump because his way of addressing us Latin Americans is very hurtful.” “We are here not because we want to be far from home or our country of origin, but because of the need to have a better life. We are here to be able to have a safer plate of food, where our primary needs are covered.”
Chamoya continued by saying that “many people do not know how difficult it is to harvest a fruit or vegetable. For them, it’s very easy to go to their table or their refrigerator and grab a banana or an apple, and they don’t know about all the sacrifices other people made to bring that fruit or vegetable to their table.”
Another panelist was Arcenio López, executive director of the Mixteco/Indigenous Community Organizing Project (MICOP), who expressed:
“There is a historical context to the actions of racism, discrimination, and hatred in this country, we, as indigenous peoples, know this very well.”
“We are not immigrants on this continent; We are from this continent. The borders have been created with the purpose of dividing, of controlling to continue plundering the natural resources, lands, languages, culture, beliefs, and vision of the native peoples of this continent.”
“This type of hate speech that we are experiencing now is very intentional and is used as a way to continue oppressing us as indigenous peoples and as migrants, it is a mental weapon that they have been using for a long time.”
López also pointed out international decisions and agreements, such as the Free Trade Agreement between the United States and Mexico, as a factor that contributes to people’s decisions to leave their country of origin. López spoke on this topic and said, “In Oaxaca, companies from the United States, Canada, and Europe are extracting natural resources and leaving communities without trees or drinking water.”