Estela Juárez, just 11 years old, said Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention in a prerecorded video that her family has suffered since her mother, Alejandra Juárez, the wife of a Marine , was deported to Mexico by the Trump Administration in 2018.
“My father thought that you would protect military families, so he voted for you in 2016, Mr. President. He says he will not vote for you again after what you did to our family , ”the little girl said in a video showing her family in Florida.
Juárez had emigrated from Mexico illegally more than 20 years ago, but was deported in August 2018 after an immigration violation. Activists from the immigrant community mounted an unsuccessful campaign to stop her deportation, including with the help of Democratic leaders in Congress.
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Estela Juárez, 11, (right) and her mother, Alejandra Juárez, an immigrant of Mexican origin who was deported by the Trump Administration Democratic National Convention
Her husband, who served in the military, voted for Trump in 2016.
"My mother worked hard and paid taxes, and the Obama administration told her she could stay," the minor said in the video broadcast to millions of people during the convention.
The video featured with others in a segment dedicated to the topic of immigrants' contributions and shows Estela with her mother and sister, when she had not yet been deported.
Juárez regularly reported to the authorities of the Office of Immigration and Customs Services (ICE) but became a target of deportation by the Trump Administration.
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“With every day that passes, you deport more mothers and fathers and take them away from children like me. You separated thousands of children from their parents, and put them in cages. Some of those children are now orphans because of you, ”Estela said.
"We need a president who unites people, not separates them," he stressed.
The video was produced by Cristina Costantini, who explained that she wanted to tell the story of families separated due to Trump's "inhumane immigration policies."
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Also during the convention, towards the end of the night as the star guest, the words of former President Barack Obama underscored the importance of these immigrant stories.
"The tension throughout our history between welcoming or rejecting the stranger is about more than immigration," Obama said. "It's about what America means."
Trump has been accused of being racist and inhumane by his detractors for his hardline immigration policies, but Biden has had to assure voters that he is worthy of their trust on the issue, given the record number of deportations during the Obama Administration. .
In this election, a record 23 million immigrants will be eligible to vote.