I wasn’t planning to write this. I had my content calendar mapped out, my regular programming ready to go. But sometimes your heart demands to be heard, and this week, I couldn’t stay silent.
Even though my family and I are now living in Mexico – over a month into this new chapter of our lives – I’m still deeply connected to what’s happening to our community in the United States. And honestly, I’m heartbroken, angry, and scared for so many of you.
The Supreme Court’s recent ruling that essentially allows ICE agents to racially profile Latinos based on skin color, accents, and where we work isn’t just a policy decision – it’s a direct attack on our existence. As I recorded my latest podcast episode (completely unscripted, straight from my heart), I couldn’t help but think about my family still in Chicago, my friends, my neighbors, and all of you beautiful mamas raising brown children in this increasingly hostile environment.
Why They’re Threatened by Us
Here’s what I want you to understand: this isn’t happening because we’re weak or insignificant. It’s happening because we’re powerful, and they know it.
We are the largest growing minoritized population in the United States. The statistics show that if current trends continue, we could outnumber white people in this country. But it’s not just about numbers – it’s about the incredible economic and cultural power we wield.
If you took Latinos in the United States and made us our own economy, we’d be in the top five economies in the world. Let me repeat that: Latinos in the U.S. alone would represent a top-five world economy.
I think about my hometown of Chicago, specifically Little Village on 26th Street. That strip generates more money than the Magnificent Mile. Our abuelas and tías were the original house hackers, buying multi-unit properties and creating generational wealth long before it was trendy. We own businesses, we drive economies, we build communities.
This government knows our power, and they’re terrified of it.
To My Bilingual Mamas: Don’t You Dare Stop
If you’re raising bilingual children, please hear me: keep going. Don’t let this administration’s xenophobia make you second-guess the beautiful gift you’re giving your kids.
They want us to assimilate completely, to lose ourselves in some mythical “America First” narrative where we’re supposed to be grateful just to exist here. But we know the truth – this country was built by immigrants, many of them our ancestors, and their hard work is what made America prosper.
Continue speaking Spanish to your children. Continue celebrating our cultura. Continue packing those “weird” lunches that smell like home. Continue being proud of your difficult-to-pronounce last names and your beautiful accents.
Our children need to know they are powerful, that they belong, that they have purpose not despite being Latino, but because of it.
A Call to Those with Privilege
For the mamas who, like me, were born here and have legal status, for those who are white-passing and might never be racially profiled, for those with prosperous jobs who feel somewhat insulated from these attacks – we have work to do.
We must acknowledge our privilege and use it. We cannot be bystanders while our hermanas are being torn from their children, while families are being destroyed, while people are living in fear of simply existing in their brown skin.
Educate yourself beyond the headlines. Speak up. Know your rights and help others know theirs. Support organizations doing the work. Use whatever platform you have – whether it’s a podcast like mine, a social media account, or just conversations with friends and family.
We Are Here for Each Other
I’m sharing resources in my podcast episode about knowing your rights and reporting ICE activity because we cannot just sit back and watch our community be terrorized. Even from thousands of miles away in Mexico, I’m here for you. My DMs are always open. If you need to vent, if you need support, if you just need someone to listen – I’m here.
This was never supposed to be a political platform, but when our very existence is being politicized, everything becomes political. When they’re trying to erase us, showing up authentically becomes an act of resistance.
We will not be erased. We will not be silenced. We will continue raising proud, bilingual, culturally rooted children who know their worth and their power.
Our kids are the future, and if we raise them to be proud of who they are, maybe in 10, 20, 30 years, we can live in a world that truly celebrates its multicultural, multilingual richness instead of fearing it.
Show Notes
I felt an overwhelming urge to break from my regular programming and speak directly to my Latina mama community about what’s happening right now. Even though my family and I moved to Mexico over a month ago, my heart is still very much with our people in the United States. This completely unscripted episode comes straight from my heart as I process the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that essentially gives ICE agents the green light to racially profile Latinos.
What you’ll hear:
- Why the recent Supreme Court ruling on ICE discrimination feels so personal to me as a Latina mother
- The real reason the U.S. government feels threatened by our growing Latino population and economic power
- My passionate plea to continue raising bilingual, culturally proud children despite the current climate
- How our community’s spending power makes us the equivalent of a top-five world economy
- A call to action for all Latina mamas – those with privilege and those without – to stand together
Resources Mentioned:
- Know Your Rights information
- Know Your Rights: If You Encounter ICE (English PDF), National Immigrant Justice Center
- Conozca Sus Derechos: Si Se Encuentra Con ICE (PDF en español), National Immigrant Justice Center
- Red Cards/Tarjetas Rojas, Immigrant Legal Resource Center
- Rapid Response Hotlines to Report ICE Activities, Latinx Therapy
- The Supreme Court Decision on ICE and Racial Profiling, Explained; The New York Times
About Jessica Cuevas
Jessica is the founder and creator of Viva la Mami, LLC a community centered around Latina motherhood. Jessica created this platform after not finding empowering stories about experiences of Latina moms. She realized that there was a lack of representation in this space and felt there was a need for mamis to share their stories and to learn more about the nuances about motherhood through a cultural lens.
Viva la Mami’s mission is to empower the modern Latina mom to redefine the meaning of madrehood through education, story-telling, and cultural relevance all while bringing comunidad together.
