Dulce Guzmán became the executive director of Alianza Américas just weeks ago. The 30-year-old succeeded Óscar Chacón of El Salvador, who had been at the helm of Alianza América, a network of immigrant rights organizations, for 20 years.
It’s quite the moment to assume a national leadership position for immigrant rights. Alianza Américas, like the rest of the country –and, to an extent, the world– is bracing for two very different outcomes: the first woman president of the United States or the return of Donald Trump to the White House. In case the Republican candidate wins, she says, “we are actively already thinking about how we will partner with churches or other safe spaces to literally protect people who are going to be targeted with these mass deportations.”
Guzmán understands firsthand that the wellbeing of Central American and other Latino communities in the United States goes beyond the presidential vote every four years. She’s a beneficiary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, better known as “Dreamers”, a group who arrived in the U.S. as kids under 16 before 2012. DACA shields them from deportation and grants them permission to work, currently covering upwards of half a million people. The overwhelming majority of recipients were born in Mexico, followed by three Central American countries: El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The Trump administration tried to dismantle DACA, as well as Temporary Status (TPS).
Guzmán (Ixtapan de la Sal, Mexico, 1994) knows the world after November 5 will be a battle. “With the current makeup of the Supreme Court, it's very likely that the program will get completely shut down,” she admits. That doesn’t seem to faze her. Having started as an intern, she cut her political teeth in the organization. A second round with Trump? “It will be very difficult, but we went through it once and we can do it again”.
When announcing her new position, a statement by Alianza Américas declared that Guzmán would “bring renewed energy” and “instill a sense of hope and optimism as we continue to advocate for the rights and dignity of immigrant communities.” “Something I don’t see at the forefront is that the U.S. has one of the highest wealth inequality rates among similar countries,” she says. “We're blaming each other for what we don't have when, in reality, a small group of people are holding so many resources that could help address some of these issues, like the lack of housing.”
Alianza Américas has spoken of “passing the torch” to leaders who came of political age in the coalition. It appears it is also sending a political message by putting you personally at the helm of this.
Everything that you just expressed is right. For a lot of people like me, who are brought here young or even those who were born here as the child of immigrants, there has been an effort to have us acculturate to U.S. society, to U.S. culture, to U.S. norms and ideals. Some have forgotten where we come from and how that influences the way that people perceive us. Since 2008 there has been growing anti-immigrant rhetoric that has made people question themselves as immigrants. Growing up, I would ask myself, did I do something wrong? Did my parents do something wrong? It took a lot of research, learning, and asking questions to understand where the fear and hatred were coming from. Finding Alianza Américas allowed me to understand a little more about my history, my roots, and feel proud of where I come from and who I am today. With immigration again being such a tough issue in this election, it brings some anxiety. It brings some anger. We're in this place again. But it’s also pushing us to think of how else we can get our stories out there and bring in younger generations to this movement.
That sentiment has been reflected on the campaign trail. Both parties have moved to the right on immigration. Where does that leave Central Americans and other Latino communities with mixed immigration status, politically speaking?
Those who have my status or without status are really trying to just show that we're here and that we contribute to our communities; not just economically, but culturally, socially. A lot of them are feeling like they are being pushed out. The U.S. had a labor shortage coming into the Biden administration. When they see that, and they are looking to work, it’s puzzling. There's also more anxiety around how open to be about our immigration status. But we are seeing people standing together and trying to speak out about what really is causing such fear and hatred. If we ask ourselves that question, it's really assessing how big racial and economic inequalities have affected communities here in the U.S.
You’re in the same position as millions of people in the United States. How have you answered those questions? Did you do something wrong? Did your parents do something wrong?
I really understood what it meant to be undocumented when I had just graduated from high school and I was looking for opportunities to continue my education. Then the DACA program came out. Having that sense of greater protection gave me more confidence to get more involved in my community. Through that process of understanding what it meant to have this work permit and protection from deportation, I wondered: Why did my parents come here? They talk so well about Mexico that I was confused; Mexico sounded like a much better place than here. Was there a better way of doing that? I was trying to hear what other people on the opposite side had to say. But I found there wasn't really an explanation for the hatred toward people like me and my family. I also found that there are no pathways that my parents could have taken to come here through a regular pathway.
Understanding that there really was no option, and the way that the system has been created, it has just failed us. It made me more confident in trying to find a community locally that was interested in becoming more educated and engaged. Growing up, I didn't see a lot of organizing in the suburbs. You would always hear about it in Chicago, a big city with a lot of people and resources. Being from the suburbs made me question how to get more people in these places to feel more empowered by their story and their voices. Other people my age who are second- or third-generation don't have that closeness to their roots or migration story. Hearing anti-immigrant rhetoric or seeing the way we're portrayed makes them want to push away from being part of that immigrant history. The way that Trump is now talking about Latino Americans is making people try to change their identity or the way they feel about themselves and talk about their community, to fit into that bubble, to say that's not me.
You mentioned DACA as an animating political issue for you, as it has been over the past decade and a half for immigrant advocacy groups. The Biden administration moved to enact it as federal regulation, and that's being challenged by the courts. What legal future does this program have?
Regardless of who gets into office, the reality is that DACA will end up again in the Supreme Court. And with the current makeup of the Supreme Court, it's very likely that the program will get completely shut down. We're hyper-aware of that and actively talking about it to our member organizations. Immigrant rights organizations are planning for that.
Under Trump, your predecessor Óscar Chacón described the movement for TPS as an exercise of resistance, riding out the storm for better political conditions. How are you preparing for the possibility of Trump returning to office?
I completely agree with Óscar that it is an act of resilience. Even before Biden leaves office, there will be a huge push to make sure that there is a [TPS] redesignation for El Salvador as the deadline is coming up. But the reality is that if Trump does come into office, that will be challenged. It's going to be harder to use a litigation strategy; the administration now has more experience and has had time to think about the avenues to execute some of their plans. That doesn't mean we shouldn't fight. We're talking to other organizations that do more litigation advocacy to hear how they're seeing that strategy.
The other thing will be people power. That was what really helped us resist the first Trump administration. It will be a bit more difficult now; there's a lot more division in the U.S. among communities, there's more fear. But our organizations are working to get people engaged during this election and let them know that there will be a plan. So it's not all doom. Yes, it will be very difficult, but we went through it once and we can do it again.
What is the feeling in the communities you represent? How are the communities themselves processing what could happen?
The whole context has been affecting their mental health. We've seen some examples of what the Trump campaign has in mind, like domestic deportations, a bigger crackdown on unauthorized work, shutting down completely the border, no real pathways for asylum, and a particular attack on the TPS program. We are actively already thinking about how we will support the community economically, and how we will partner with churches or other safe spaces to literally protect people who are going to be targeted with these mass deportations. We are also thinking about what our message will be because, regardless of who gets elected, there is a huge narrative fight that we have been preparing for. We've lost a lot of fights in the narrative space over the last four years. So there's a conversation happening now about how to counter these narratives.
It seems like you are boarding up the windows. Is that a good way of putting it?
We are thinking of what things will look like. But also, there are many states here in the U.S. who are willing to challenge the norm. What state and local work and protection programs can we implement? Sometimes it takes something really big and bad to push people into trying more innovative things.
Guatemala remembers Kamala Harris for her remark in 2022 toward prospective migrants: “Don't come, don't come.” She’s also the figurehead of Central America Forward, an initiative to attract private investment, and the Trump campaign has called her the “border czar”. What can we expect from Harris toward Central American countries and communities should she be elected?
It would still be difficult, albeit maybe not as much as under a Trump administration, to push them to not only extend TPS designations but also redesignate for some countries that have not had it for a long time. Harris has made it very clear that her focus is the “border bill” that they pushed over the summer, which would make it harder for people to seek asylum and provide more enforcement, and more funds for CBP and others at the border. The way they're talking about immigration policy [in the campaign] is so focused on the border, whereas, when the Biden administration first came in, there was more of a focus on finding pathways to regulate people’s status and to find pathways to allow people to travel here safely. The “root causes” strategy was a step in the right direction. Under a Harris administration, it would still be very hard to combat this anti-immigrant narrative that is fueling a focus on border enforcement policies. But again, I do think that there will be more room to push.
What do you make of the phenomenon of “close the door behind me” when it comes to immigration? In this election there is growing, but still modest, Latino support for the Republican candidate and his proposals. What do you tell these once-immigrants or their children or grandchildren?
There is some sentiment of “closing the door behind me.” “My family's here, we’re good.” But, on the other hand, people are thinking about the economy. Whatever message that Trump is sharing resonates with them. They're also concerned about abortion, healthcare, housing. Over the last couple of years, Republican governors have bussed and flown migrants from the border to their states. Cities like Chicago welcomed them and provided shelter, clothing, and other opportunities, and there have been some negative emotions seeing newcomers receiving this, whereas people who have been here for so long have not been given that kind of support — not only from U.S. citizens, but also immigrants themselves.
This anti-immigrant narrative is not just about newcomers. Many of these comments are specifically targeted to people of Latin American origin and Black communities. As we've seen, the discourse on Haitians and people of Latin American origin is that we are criminals, rapists and coming from mental hospitals. So I would like to tell younger generations that we need to be proud of who we are, and we need to stick together. We need to know that there are alternatives that don't scapegoat our own community and continue to feel empowered by our roots.
Are your organizations thinking about misinformation and how communities get their news? Little stories get amplified and give people this sense that they’re not secure in their communities anymore, and these narratives are amplified by TikTokers and YouTubers. How should the media approach these stories?
Yes, we have been really looking at misinformation and disinformation because, in a single second, a video can become viral and then that becomes the story for everyone. We have been working with our member organizations and others on the ground to point out, through visuals and messaging: This is what the reality is. A perfect example is the comments that have been made about FEMA resources being used for undocumented immigrants, and that’s just not the reality. Those who don't speak the language, and who don’t have status, are some of the most affected by hurricanes because they don't qualify for services. We try to combat that by showing how immigrants in those communities are helping rebuild those places that have been destroyed by the hurricanes, despite not being eligible for all the available support.
The U.S. immigration debate seems steeped in a politics of scarcity and grievance. How does the United States move beyond that?
Something I don't see at the forefront is that the U.S. in particular has one of the highest wealth inequality rates among similar countries. We're blaming each other for what we don't have when, in reality, a small group of people are holding so many resources that could help address some of these issues that we are reckoning with, like the lack of housing. How do we reimagine our social or care systems, not only here in the U.S. but also in our countries of origin? How do we take care of the most vulnerable and create opportunities for people to stay in their homes? We also need to be paying more attention to climate change because it is harming agricultural opportunities in Central America in particular. There's no real plan or program in place to help alleviate the consequences for people who depend on that agricultural work.
In Central America, Biden has drawn closer to Nayib Bukele in El Salvador, despite the latter’s unconstitutional second term. At the same time, he defended the 2023 election results and process in Guatemala in the face of efforts to overturn them illegally. The administration has claimed that democracy is at the center of its foreign policy. How do you read those contradictions?
This is also connected to disinformation because the Bukele government has mastered the use of social media and communications. Even people here in the U.S. are puzzled when you bring up why it was undemocratic for Bukele to seek another term unconstitutionally. We need to point out the impact of the Bukele administration on human rights violations and freedom of expression. It comes down to listening to civil society and independent media. We have seen a major effort to suppress independent journalism that speaks out about the reality on the ground.
Bukele has extensively courted the support of the diaspora. Does that political effect also ripple to U.S. electoral politics?
I think they are related. When you’re living in a place that's not meeting your needs, and somebody says, “We're going to be tougher on crime and target gangs,” people feel that, if we are addressing safety, maybe it’s okay to not push as much on freedom of speech. I think that is infecting the way that the U.S. thinks. Going back to wealth inequality, it’s easier to embrace governments that are more authoritarian or that are pointing the finger at something specific to blame as opposed to thinking that there are concrete proposals to improve our conditions.
If we're not giving them a concrete opposition plan on how we’re actually going to fix those things, how do we or how do advocates change that narrative? That’s where we begin. We’re not just against authoritarianism or locking people up en masse. How can we work together as opposed to in silos? Local and state governments will be key in these next few years to challenge what we have not been able to get done at a federal level. Immigration has a hyper-local impact, and it’s time for states and cities to take this into their own hands and find alternatives.
