Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Nevadans share immigration stories, tout Clinton at DNC

Karla Ortiz,

Paul Sancya / AP

Karla Ortiz, 11, left, and mother, Francisca Ortiz, wave after speaking during the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Monday, July 25, 2016.

PHILADELPHIA — Karla and Francisca Ortiz. Astrid Silva.

On Monday night, these three Nevadans took the stage at the Democratic National Convention to share their experiences with immigration — Karla Ortiz as the daughter of undocumented immigrants, living in fear that they’ll be deported, and her mother, Francisca Oritz, and Silva as undocumented immigrants themselves.

Karla Ortiz, 11, told the crowd of thousands about how she had met Hillary Clinton in Las Vegas in February and shared her story with her. (That meeting is featured in one of Clinton’s ads, titled “Brave.”)

“Valiente — brave,” Karla Ortiz said, standing beside her mother, Francisca Ortiz. “That’s what Hillary Clinton called me when I told her I was worried my parents would be deported.”

But she doesn’t feel brave every day.

“Most days I’m scared at any moment my mom and my dad will be forced to leave and I wonder what if I come home and find it empty,” she said.

However, she said she has “esperanza” — hope. She said that Clinton told her that she would do everything she can to help her family.

“She wants me to have the worries of an 11-year-old, not the weight of the world on my shoulders,” Karla Ortiz said.

Las Vegas immigration activist and Dreamer Astrid Silva told the crowd how she has seen Clinton comfort children like Karla Ortiz who are scared of losing their parents to deportation.

Silva shared her own story, how she had crossed a river into the U.S. at only 4 years old and all she had with her was a little doll. She grew up like an ordinary girl with her family pursuing the American dream, Silva said, except she couldn’t do some things because her parents were worried someone might discover she was undocumented.

She thanked Sen. Harry Reid — whom she called “mi abuelito” — saying she and her family are here only because of him and people like him. And she stressed that Clinton would do the same.

“I know she will fight to keep our families together — nuestras familias,” Silva said. “I know she will.”

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