It’s up to local leaders to protect immigrants in our community
Anti-immigrant sentiments have reached a peak in our country. During the COVID-19 pandemic, attacks on Asian Americans, in particular, have increased. On March 16, six Asian American women were massacred in a mass shooting in Georgia. Less than two weeks later, a man at Times Square in New York City knocked a 65-year-old Filipino woman to the ground and kicked her in the head repeatedly, screaming, “You don’t belong here!”
Whether you have experienced mistreatment due to your race or ethnicity, know someone who has, or simply been alarmed at the news, it is time to speak out. Such racist and xenophobic attacks are not new, but they are getting worse.
This hatred won’t end on its own. To fight for the American values of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that we take pride in, we have to take an active role against discrimination and anti-immigrant sentiments we are seeing in our communities. We must support immigrants who contribute every day to the place we are lucky enough to call home. We have the power to make Florida a place where immigrants are accepted and protected, and it starts with the actions of our own local governments.
For you, that means getting involved in the city and county governments where you live and advocating for change. For us, two Hollywood residents, that means it starts with our city, home to immigrants from many different countries. It is time for the leadership of this city to make it clear that Hollywood is a place that respects and values its immigrant communities.
We are asking Hollywood City Commission members to pass legislation prohibiting the harassment and persecution of immigrants. Hollywood has the potential to be a model for all other cities — a progressive, tolerant community that protects its residents regardless of where they may come from by combating racial and ethnic hatred.
We cherish our diverse community — especially among our peers at South Broward High School, where 41% of students, including ourselves, are Hispanic. Despite our similarities, we had extremely different immigrant experiences. We believe that these disparities had to do with both our skin color and our nationalities.
I’m Dafne. I was born in Venezuela, but my grandparents came from Uruguay, Germany and Spain. I immigrated to the U.S. with German citizenship and I am also light-skinned. I was fortunate that these inherent factors shaped my immigrant story, and contributed to the fair treatment I experienced when moving to the U.S.
I’m Dariel, and my family came from the Dominican Republic chasing the American Dream. But my parents’ story is different than Dafne’s. Despite having a college education, my father faced unemployment and poverty because of the language he spoke, his Dominican nationality and his darker skin color.
We know that our families’ experiences with immigration shouldn’t have been so different from one another. We shouldn’t be treated differently because of our skin color, socioeconomic status, nationality or inability to speak English. It is imperative that all of us, whether an immigrant yourself or someone who knows an immigrant, work to create positive change and to counteract the harmful effects of anti-immigrant sentiments and also anti-immigrant laws imposed by federal and state governments.
Hollywood should build on its anti-discrimination policies and pass legislation declaring that mistreatment of immigrants and other vulnerable populations is not accepted in our city. By establishing an immigrant advisory board, consisting of diverse local leaders, like educators, health care workers and faith leaders, immigrants could have a stronger voice in our community.
If we want to help fight the hatred sewn in our society, we need to mobilize and let our city commissioners know. We, along with a team of local activists who share our passion for immigrants’ rights, have organized a petition drive to let our leaders know that this is the kind of city we want to live in.
You can express your support for this movement by signing your name to the petition at action.aclu.org/petition/signpetition-tell-city-hollywood-takeaction-support-immigrants-ourcommunity.
Signing this petition is a start. You can also send your district commissioner an email or letter expressing your thoughts or share your story and support at an upcoming commission meeting. Use your voice as a citizen to speak for those who may be unable to. We should live in a place that is willing to support all immigrants the way they support us. That is the kind of city that we would be proud to call home, and we are the only ones capable of making this change.