This content was published on August 13, 2024 – 16:22
Maria Leon
Tucson (USA), Aug 13 (EFE).- The first migrant senator elected from Mexico to the United States, Karina Ruiz, said in an interview with EFE that her compatriots abroad represent more than remittances for her country and promised to fight to improve consular services.
Ruiz, a 40-year-old immigration activist based in Phoenix, Arizona, will make history on September 1 when she is sworn in for the new seat in the Upper House that seeks to give a “voice” to Mexicans outside their country.
“It is a great honor for me to be able to represent my migrant community in the Mexican Senate,” said Ruiz.
The migrant, who is a member of the Morena party, was elected last June by Mexicans in their country and abroad, who also gave victory to the ruling party candidate Claudia Sheinbaum as the first female president of Mexico.
Originally from Tlanepantla (State of Mexico), Ruiz graduated in Biochemistry from Arizona State University (ASU) in the United States, where she arrived with her parents when she was 12 years old.
Ruiz, a beneficiary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program for undocumented children who came to the U.S. with their parents, has dedicated much of her life to fighting for immigrant rights in Arizona.
The Mexican, who has been the director of the Arizona Dream Act Coalition for the past decade, is the first person living abroad to be elected to the Mexican Senate for a six-year term.
“I want migrants to be seen not only as remittances, but also to have our needs taken into account,” he said.
A common complaint among Mexicans abroad, he said, is the service offered by their consulates, something that is regulated precisely by the Senate.
“I am here with the intention of working closely with consulates abroad to improve services for our fellow citizens,” he stressed.
He said that another of his goals is to continue promoting the vote of Mexicans abroad and to avoid a repeat of problems like those of last June, when hundreds of Mexicans were unable to vote in Phoenix after waiting for hours in intense temperatures.
Ruiz also said she experienced Arizona’s anti-immigrant sentiment firsthand as a teenager. At age 15, she and her family arrived in the United States illegally.
The “American dream” became a painful reality for Ruiz when, as a student, he faced discrimination in Arizona, one of the first states to require proof of citizenship to apply for a driver’s license.
The state also has a state law that eliminated bilingual education and only recently repealed legislation that for years forced undocumented students like Ruiz to pay higher tuition as foreign students at state universities.
However, instead of “hiding in the shadows,” Ruiz decided not to remain silent, becoming a recognized activist.
The migrant was one of many who fought against SB1070 in 2010, a law known as “show me your papers,” which gave police departments the power to question the immigration status of people they stopped, including those for simple traffic violations.
“This law was a hard blow to our community, and unfortunately this November we will have a similar law that will affect our community even more,” said Ruiz.
He was referring to a proposal similar to a law passed in Texas that allows police to arrest and imprison undocumented immigrants and that voters in Arizona will decide in a plebiscite.
Ruiz said that despite her new position, she will continue to advise young undocumented migrants who, like her, took advantage of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and had their lives changed by protecting them from deportation and providing them with a work permit.
The Mexican also said that there had been several failed attempts in the past to have a migrant elected to the Mexican Senate.
“I am very happy to be part of this new era in Mexico,” said Ruiz.
The migrant senator will be part of Sheinbaum’s historic mandate, who will be sworn in on October 1 as the first female president of Mexico.
“It is no longer the macho Mexico where only men were in power, it is no longer the Mexico that did not take migrants into account, this gives me a lot of encouragement to do a good job and open more spaces for women and migrants,” said Ruiz. EFE
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