The following narrative is based on an interview with a San Francisco first responder. Born in Mexico, he is now a US citizen. This is his reaction to the ICE raids currently happening in the city and across the country.
His account has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity. Gazetteer has agreed to anonymize his identity, due to concerns about retaliation. —JR
I was born in Mexico and first became a resident of the United States, and applied for and achieved citizenship in the 1990s. I came here to work, and work, and work, and then I went through the legal process to become what I am right now, a citizen of the United States. I decided to become a citizen to be part of the system, to be treated equally and contribute equally, and have the same perks as an American-born citizen, and the rights and everything else that comes with it — and opportunities, of course.
I have no criminal record whatsoever. I’m a US citizen, not by birth, but by the legal rights and protections of the Constitution. So I don’t feel at all at risk — the only thing that I might be at risk of is the way I look. I don’t carry my proof of citizenship on me, but by my looks, I could probably get asked about my legal status. It’s not a good time to look like me.
I’ve been in the US over 30 years and I have never seen deportations happening anywhere in the country. I have never heard of anything like this. Stopping people on the street? Going to people’s jobs, knocking on their doors, taking and separating families, breaking homes apart? I’ve never heard of this, never seen it before. It makes me upset, like I want to do something about it, but there is nothing I can do. I wish I could help in some way, but there’s not much I can do.
In the spring, my youngest child told me students in her class weren’t going to school because of their family status. My oldest child is very aware of what’s going on. We watch a lot of Spanish news in the evenings and the oldest asks questions like, “How come they don’t do a different process, these people are already here for years and years? They're contributing, they’re working, it would be easier to give them a permit.
He asks those kinds of questions. I’m like, Thank you. You should run for president.
The older child has two friends whose mothers are undocumented, and separated from their families hiding from this mess so they don’t get deported. It’s hard for him, and it’s hard for me, because he sees his friend going through this stuff. They hang out, they play sports together, so he sees him going through that kind of stuff, and I don't think it’s fair. It doesn't seem like his friend is happy.
I’ve seen the families, they’re scared looking at social media, TV news, and all this stuff on the radio station. Even on the Spanish channel, on the radio station, [Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi] Noem has a commercial, saying you must register if you’re an illegal alien in the United States, and if not you’re going to get fined $1,000, incarcerated, deported, and you’ll never get back to this country. It’s designed to put fear in people.
It’s 98.9 FM, 100 percent Mexican music, the DJs are 100 percent Mexican. It’s very popular, I think it’s the number one Spanish-speaking station nationwide. Everything’s in Spanish. Imagine you hear the Mexican music, boom, boom, boom, and then it stops in a commercial, and then, in English, Kristi Noem comes on. It’s just weird. It’s the weirdest thing ever. Who let that happen? Millions of people listen to that radio station.
It’s putting bad things, misinformation, in people’s minds: that these people are bad, taking your jobs, they’re coming in to destroy the country. To me, that’s the message a lot of kids are getting. Kids should learn the truth as soon as they get this device. [points to his smartphone] As soon as they get this device, they get all the trash news, all the ignorant information. So why not start educating them early enough, before this thing kicks in, and the government feeds you its own agenda. I mean, that’s the future of the United States. And if we don’t educate them early, the ignorance is kicking in.
The true version, I think, is the majority — I’m not saying 100 percent, but I guarantee you 80 percent — of immigrants come to this country just to work, to have better opportunities, and a better life for themselves, their kids, and whoever comes along. Is everybody like that? No, there’s going to be, you know, the bad people, criminals, people that want to work the system. But the majority of them are just coming here to have a better life.
