As a new citizen, I’m voting in California to honor the community that shaped me

Lea esta nota de opinión en Español

When I reflect on my personal life and career, it’s evident that the two have intermingled since I entered the workforce with my first Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals work permit.

I believed that my contribution to this country was through sharing my experience as a border Dreamer. I wanted to help “DACAmented” peers both feel empowered to pursue their own dreams and to persuade voters from San Diego communities similar to the ones I grew up in to use their right to vote for a better San Diego. 

Just in time, the stars aligned for me to join them as a first-time voter in what will be a historic election this fall. Twelve years after DACA was introduced, three years since becoming a lawful permanent resident and 25 years of calling San Diego home, I became an official U.S. citizen last month. 

I finally submitted the six work permits that documented every two years of my life and the one conditional residency card I had carefully kept safe. I felt a sudden sense of relief wash through me as I thought, “I will never need these again.“

On the afternoon of my naturalization ceremony, I sat next to my husband on the plastic chairs at the citizenship services office and patiently waited for those behind me to go through their own version of metamorphosis at the registration table. I watched as a message looped from President Biden on the screen in front of me. I thought about the idea of permanency and how it seemed so far away so long. Now I could finally taste it. 

Those of us naturalizing were asked to rise and recite the oath of allegiance together. We repeated in unison, “…that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America.” 

I let the moment sink in and registered what this truly meant for me and my family. 

We closed the oath, clapped and shared smiles with each other. One by one our names got called and we finally got to hold the document that changed our lives forever. 

I thought back to my mother who taught me about community — not just my blood relatives, but the friends in the apartments I grew up in, their families, tias, tíos, family friends and coworkers around us. All of us were a community. 

Now a registered voter, I also recalled what I wrote on my college graduation cap: “Vuela tan alto como puedas sin olvidar de donde vienes.” Fly as high as you can but don’t forget where you came from. Each word rang out in my mind and will be top of mind as I prepare to vote for dignity up and down the ballot this fall, thinking of the community that poured into the cup of this once-undocumented Mexican girl with big dreams. 

This vote is not just my vote — it is a vote for the community that cared for me. 

As the civic engagement director for a human rights organization with a mission to build a more inclusive democracy, I am living proof that our mission works. When we invest in people through education, health and provide them access to resources, the possibilities for our communities to thrive are limitless. 

For a long time I felt like I did not belong in the U.S., the place I grew up in, nor in Mexico, the place where I took my first breath. Naturalizing completely changed that; I finally feel like I fully belong both here and there. I can travel to my birthplace without fear and be a voting member of my community at home. 

This election, I vote because it is my right and responsibility.