How young student advocates can help create a more just immigration system

By Carla Mendoza, UnidosUS Líderes Avanzando Fellow, Columbia University Student

Overwhelmed. Helpless. Scared. Angry.

These are the emotions that ran through me the first time I watched video footage of immigrant and refugee families being tear gassed at the U.S.-Mexico border. To me, and to many, this was the ultimate manifestation of President Donald J. Trump’s hateful “zero tolerance” rhetoric becoming a reality.

Anyone who cares about human rights and democracy should have zero tolerance for these actions. As the daughter of Mexican immigrants and as a Columbia University student majoring in political science, ethnicity, and race, I certainly feel that way. In fact, it’s something I’ve been trying to address over the last year through my fellowship with UnidosUS’s Líderes Avanzando public policy training program.

Read the full post on ProgressReport.co.