We Don’t Need Trump And His Colorado Trump Klan

Written by Alex Ortega, a member of United We Dream Action’s local chapter Northern Colorado Dreamers United

Rumors went around this week that Donald Trump was set to announce a “softer” immigration plan in Colorado to outreach to immigrant voters by hinting at relief for me and 11 million immigrants. An advisory council of Latino Republicans met with Trump on Saturday and were impressed by how he little he spoke during their recommendations, calling his approach to enforcement “humane and efficient.” Reporters took this to mean a potential path to legalization, but Trump has now pulled out of any announcement in Colorado and gone on record to say he’s “not flip flopping,” just being “fair but firm” when it comes to deportation.

Immigrant youth do not believe his phony pivot — we will work to defeat him and expose and shame those who try to cover up the agenda of this dangerous man.

There is NOTHING “humane” about deportation. There is nothing “fair” about calling me and my family rapists. Or questioning a judge’s ability to rule fairly because of his heritage. Or building a wall along the entire southern border. Or ending birthright citizenship. Or creating an ideological exam to ban Muslims.

Trump and his Klan members don’t have the interests of anyone in the immigrant community at heart. We want to thrive; he wants to terrorize us and he’s been saying it since day one.

I immigrated on my own to the United States two years ago from Durango, Mexico on a tourist visa with dreams of going to college, learning how to run a business and living authentically as an openly gay Latino.

Being undocumented is not easy — I would have never imagined that at 18 years old I would have to create my future without the support of my family. I live on my own, juggling full time work and classes. I began organizing my community when I met two girls from El Salvador and Honduras as a translator for an ESL class. They talked about not finishing high school because going to college was so uncertain. I’ve come to realize that if we are going to live with dignity and without fear, it starts with embracing my existence as an immigrant here and now, and fighting shoulder to shoulder with immigrants who have nothing to lose but their chains.

Now I’m a part of a team of immigrant youth leaders in Colorado, Florida and the northeast of the US working with United We Dream Action. We are the Honey Badger Squad because we’re fearless and fierce. Our goal is to defend our community from the deportation machine and from anti-immigrant politicians attacking us under the cover of the Trump Klan.

I’m here fighting to protect all immigrants — whether they’re marching with me in the streets or at home scared because of the raids and Trump’s rhetoric. When I think about all the hateful rhetoric Trump actively throws out on TV and across the country, I feel angry, hurt and motivated to hold my head high and fight back.

So when Colorado politicians, especially Latinos, come out as active advocates to this hateful man, the Honey Badgers won’t let them get away. Their support cements their legacy as members of the Trump Klan.

The Honey Badger Squad’s goal is to take down the Trump Klan because they represent everything that we’re against: advocates of mass deportation and incarceration, rogue enforcement and racial profiling.

Politicians like Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, Jeff Sessions and even our very own Sen. Cory Gardner are only siding with Trump to climb the political ladder and have a hand in shaping a future where criminalization of our people is not only acceptable, but active, visible and encouraged. These politicians have no moral take on this: they are willing to take Trump’s ideas and pledge their allegiance to a candidate that seeks to destroy us. Our community will not be silent and we are organizing and mobilizing, to the polls and to the streets.

I feel an emptiness when I think of my parents and loved ones living a border apart. We will fight against Trump the next 10 weeks because I can’t allow things to get worse. Yes, it is painful now, but under a Trump presidency, the threat will double, and we cannot afford that.

I’m undocumented, I’m here to stay — and I’m not backing down.