“It was like our life got flipped upside-down because he was the main breadwinner in the family. We went from living in a good home to being homeless for awhile because our main source of income was gone and my mother couldn’t sustain 6 children on her own,” remembers senior Nicole Jimenez-Mota about her dad’s deportation in 2008. Since Donald Trump was elected president on Nov. 8, Jimenez-Mota wanted to voice her opinion. Trump’s controversial views on immigration resonated with Jimenez-Mota, compelling her to take action in the San Mateo community.
On Tuesday, Nov. 15, students from San Mateo, Hillsdale and Aragon walked out of class to participate in a demonstration for unity and love. Jimenez-Mota was the lead organizer of the demonstration and felt a personal connection to the election results not only from her dad’s deportation, but also from being a Latina woman.
With Donald Trump being elected president, Jimenez-Mota used the opportunity to unite the community, rather than spread hate. “Listening to Trump’s statements towards women and towards Latinas and towards Mexicans, my ethnicity, that’s what really struck me,” says Jimenez-Mota. During Trump’s presidential campaign, he made several sexist and racist remarks towards women and Latinos. For instance, Trump questioned Hillary Clinton’s stamina, looks and strength in the first presidential debate, all referencing her being a woman. Additionally, Trump’s political goals include building a wall between the United States and Mexico and he has called Mexicans, along with other illegal immigrants, “killers and rapists.”
After the election results, Jimenez-Mota reflected on what she could do to improve others’ attitudes towards the election. “I just remember feeling so down and thinking [about] all the other people. I knew being sad and depressed about it wasn’t going to do anything,” explains Jimenez-Mota. “You can’t change the results of who got elected, but you can do something to make people feel better about the results and feel more hopeful about what’s to come. That’s why I decided to do it: to give people a silver lining to this whole election that was going on.”
Jimenez-Mota is not new to participating in protests, although this was her first time organizing one. “I’ve been a part of many many marches because of my mom and sister. They got heavily involved in immigration rights when my dad was deported,” says Jimenez-Mota.
Seeing her mom and sister as role models, Jimenez-Mota looks up to them for their strength and determination to get their voices heard. Jimenez-Mota’s older sister even organized her own demonstration during her time here at Aragon. “It was for the DREAM [Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors] Act. It was endangered of being repealed,” Jimenez-Mota explains, “and they had a day of silence and it was very big, but it was just Aragon. She’s been a huge inspiration for me and all this stuff that I’ve done.” The DREAM Act helps young undocumented immigrants pursue education, paralleling the family’s support for immigration rights.
Additionally, Jimenez-Mota admires her mother’s commitment to letting youth get their voices heard and spoke at the demonstration to show her support. Explaining her mom’s dedication to the cause, Jimenez-Mota says, “She loves making sure that her children feel heard. I think this was an opportunity for her to take all these kids under her wing and make sure that they felt heard. I think it was important to have an adult telling the kids that ‘You’re important. You matter.’”
While Jimenez-Mota is inspired by her mother and sister, her entire family is supportive and encouraging of her. “Almost my whole entire family was there, except for a few of my siblings who couldn’t make it,” says Jimenez-Mota.
A lot of Jimenez-Mota’s determination and strength comes from her dad’s deportation. Jimenez-Mota recalls, “I was 10 when it happened, but it was definitely more like I had to not be a little kid anymore and not worry about little kid things, like making sure that I did everything that I could to take care of myself, so that my mom could worry about everything else. Being a child wasn’t really an option anymore and I was just very independent at the time because my mom didn’t have the time or resources to. It was really hard, but it made me grow up a lot faster and appreciate what I had.”
Co-organizer of the protest and fellow leadership classmate, senior Justin Sell, sees Jimenez-Mota’s drive and passion, not only politics, but also in the classroom. Sell says, “[One of her best attributes is] how passionate she is and how much she clearly felt she needed to do to have a positive impact on her community.”
Although Jimenez-Mota didn’t expect 1,000 people to come to the demonstration, she was blown away the turnout. “Even if only 100 people had showed up, it would’ve been rewarding. It was so amazing to see the huge amount of students unite under one purpose and one cause. It was so beautiful and reassuring to me to know that all these people feel the same way and are there to spread love, positivity and peace,” notes Jimenez-Mota.
While the demonstration was only for one day and had a week’s worth of planning, Jimenez-Mota looks towards the future and wants to continue spreading her message. The day after the protest, Jimenez-Mota contacted a city council member. “He encouraged us not to have this ‘one-hit wonder,’ but really keep the momentum and power of this demonstration going to empower the students further,” Jimenez-Mota adds. “We really are trying and hoping to plan something in January for when Trump gets inaugurated. Hopefully, something bigger and greater will happen because I think that if we can pull 1.000 students off in one week, what [could we] do in a couple of months?”
