Susana Garcia calls herself a 鈥渕am谩 de la comunidad鈥� -- a mom of the community.
Through her Facebook group, 鈥淐omunidad Rifas Y Mas,鈥� her Northwest Dallas home serves as a hub for community meetings in Spanish. What started as a collective of seven moms during the pandemic has now grown to more than 500 members who participate in community events and fundraisers.
But when it comes to elections, Garcia feels she and others have been left out. A native of Mexico, she鈥檚 lived the U.S. for years but isn鈥檛 a citizen yet 鈥� and can鈥檛 vote. She鈥檚 been following the candidates on Spanish language media.
鈥淭hey have not thought as much about us,鈥� she said in Spanish. 鈥淲e are a community that also has a voice.鈥�
She鈥檚 still finding ways to be civically engaged: Garcia said that in her house, voting is obligatory. She makes sure that her five adult children vote.
"I always tell them that they represent my voice ... not only for me, but for the people around me who do not have that opportunity, or who do not know the importance of voting,鈥� Garcia said.
Not only does Garcia encourage her children to vote, she also encourages her husband, who became a naturalized citizen nearly three years ago.
鈥淭he first thing that I told him was that not only was he going to have the blessing of becoming a citizen, but he was also going to have the opportunity to go vote and make a decision about who was going to represent us,鈥� she said.
As Election Day approaches, one group that鈥檚 been largely left out of the conversation is immigrants who aren鈥檛 citizens. Immigrants make up almost a quarter of Dallas鈥� population, according to an , but it鈥檚 unknown how many are citizens and can vote.
Non-citizen immigrants have a stake in politics, said Lorena Tule-Romain, co-founder of ImmSchools, a nonprofit that brings resources to undocumented students and families. They work in the U.S. and pay taxes 鈥� but that鈥檚 often overlooked in discussions about immigration.
鈥淭hey're [in] needed highly needed areas and contributing proactively to our economy,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd so, part of that conversation is not happening at the political level.鈥�
She said it鈥檚 not that people don鈥檛 want to vote, but there are various challenges, including immigration policy that does not allow people to pursue the path to citizenship and become a voter. She called these 鈥渟tructurally oppressive policies.鈥�
鈥淲e have unfortunately an immigration system that is so outdated,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he last big reform was in the 1980s.鈥�
Ndayishimiye Innocent came to Dallas 16 years ago as a refugee and knows how difficult the path to citizenship can be. He is the co-founder and president of the nonprofit Dallas Burundian Community.
He said there are a lot of barriers keeping many in his community from becoming voting citizens.
鈥淭o become a voter, if you were not born here, it is not easy,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou have to go through a lot of procedures, including paying money and passing a citizenship test.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 not for everyone here.鈥�
He said immigrant communities throughout the U.S. and the world are paying attention to this year鈥檚 elections.
鈥淭hey want to see the candidates who not only base their political stances on national level, even on global level, because most of us have families everywhere,鈥� he said.
Voting isn鈥檛 the only way to get involved, said Luis Macias Barrientos, a community advocate and doctoral student at UT Arlington 鈥� he believes it鈥檚 the least you can do in terms of civic participation.
Macias Barrientos became a DACA recipient in 2012, which offers him some protections in the U.S. but not full citizenship.
鈥淭here are other ways that people can get involved too. You can make your politicians listen to you,鈥� he said. 鈥淚've still gone to my representative's office to go discuss with her about topics that are important to me. I've worked on different campaigns too. I've block walked.鈥�
Still, he said undocumented people not having access to a driver's license makes it challenging to get civically involved.
鈥淵ou put yourself in danger just by driving,鈥� he said. 鈥淎ll these issues just kind of stack on top of each other and it makes it really difficult for us to even become civic participants.鈥�
Tule-Romain said anti-immigrant rhetoric in political debates also has a chilling effect on communities here.
鈥淥ur families tend to retract and to be a little bit more cautious of their spaces and how they navigate spaces, or where they show up to spaces because it increases the fear of deportation,鈥� she said. 鈥淭heir sense of safety becomes more concerning than other times where immigration is not front and center of conversations.鈥�
For Everardo 鈥淓ver鈥� Amaya, advocacy is his way of making an impact in his community 鈥� and not just during elections. Amaya is a community advocate who grew up in Pleasant Grove and resides with his husband in the Southeast Oak Cliff neighborhood of Cedar Crest. Like Macias Barrientos, Amaya is a DACA recipient.
Having worked at Dallas City Hall before, Amaya knows the ins and out of how to report things to the city, and how to ask for things like speed bumps. He鈥檚 been teaching others in his community how to do the same.
"It's not just about focusing on the big things right that are happening during elections," he said. "Even when there's no elections happening, there's always things happening.
鈥淎re the kids in your neighborhood able to walk to places? Are they able to play outside, to feel safe? Are the elderly able to use their wheelchairs? Are there sidewalks? Are there too many loose dogs running around?鈥�
His husband recently got deputized and registered about 50 new voters in in the LGBTQ neighborhood of Oak Lawn.
鈥淚 told him, you know, this is happening just within our circle of influence,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here are hopefully thousands of people who are doing the exact same thing. This is how change happens.鈥�
Priscilla Rice is 四虎影院鈥檚 communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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