I am from Nicaragua and have lived in the US since the age of 12. I am the only US citizen in my mix-status family. When we lived in Nicaragua my family used to say that United States was the land of opportunities. They said immigrating here would open doors to a better life for us as a family. Shortly, after immigrating to this country, we discovered that was not the case. We discovered a world of criminalization in our schools and neighborhoods, miseducation, racial and ethnic discrimination, police and presence and surveillance, sub poverty wages, economic exploitation, cultural repression, mass incarcerations, mass deportations, family separation, etc.

As an organizer is my duty to support the efforts of my community by any means necessary. That is why I am fasting. We need to fix problems from the root and demand justice. We cannot longer accept being labeled as invaders in our own continent! We are not immigrants. We are just new neighbors in our relatives’ lands. We must refuse to be label as “illegal” and criminals in our ancestors territory. And we must resist living a life under police and ICE control. The permanent marginalization and criminalization of undocumented folks, people of color, and poor whites needs to come to an end! We cannot longer give more power to Power at the expense of our humanity. THE TIME IS NOW! We need to fight as a united front to stop being treated as second class humans. We all deserve the right to a dignified life. !Si se Puede! NOT1MOREdeportation!