Love, Hope and Borders

Hi everyone,

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything here. Usually, Haley is the one who handles the blog. She has really wanted me to share how I’ve been feeling with everything that’s been happening since Trump returned to office.

So here it is.

These last six months have been an emotional rollercoaster. There’s just been so much, so fast. Story after story. Headline after headline. And every time I read the comments underneath, it’s the same hate and ignorance over and over. It wears you down. It hurts.

If you’ve been following us, you know my story. I came to the U.S. when I was two years old. I lived undocumented for most of my life. The only reason I became a citizen was because of Haley. She stood by me through it all, and together we fought through a broken immigration system.

Since Trump’s election, I decided to stop hiding. I wanted people to see what it was really like to live undocumented. I hoped that telling our story could help open hearts. And for some people, I think it did. But no matter how much you share, there will always be people who refuse to see your humanity. They’ll say, “I’m not racist, they just need to do it the right way.” But what they don’t understand is that people are doing it the right way. And it still doesn’t matter. People in the middle of legal processes are being detained. People are being deported. Families are being separated. It’s cruel.

The other day, I told Haley, “I don’t know if I should keep going, or just quit.” She asked me what I meant. And I said, “I’m tired. I’m 36 years old and I don’t feel at peace. I don’t know if I should keep being involved. Do I just bury my head and ignore politics? It’s too much.”

And it really is too much.

Haley’s been feeling it too. She put it best when she said it feels like this administration sees naturalized citizens as second-class. Not even that—they’re actively planning to denaturalize people who, in their words, have “committed certain crimes.” And yeah, some people might say, “Oh, that won’t happen to Jose. He’s done everything right.” But how do we know that’s true anymore?

This administration is targeting brown people. That’s the truth. If their goal is to reduce the immigrant population, they’ll do whatever it takes to meet that number. Even if it means going after people who haven’t done anything wrong. And that is terrifying.

We’re worried for our family, especially with Trump’s plans to end birthright citizenship. We’re worried someone we love could be pulled over, detained by ICE in an unmarked car, and disappeared into a system that doesn’t care who you are, only what you look like.

We’re worried for our daughters, our beautiful, brown girls. What kind of country will they grow up in? Will they be ashamed of who they are because America tells them that being Mexican is wrong?

I’ve always been proud to be Mexican. And I wish I could feel that same pride in being American. But right now, I don’t.

And now here comes the Fourth of July. It’s strange to think about celebrating when there’s so much fear, anger, and heartbreak. But even so, we’ll spend it with family. We’ll be with our girls and the people who have supported us, the people who believe in the same kind of country we do, one that’s fair, compassionate, and just.

This year, more than ever, we understand why so many people are disgusted, angry, or fearful of what this country is becoming. We feel it deeply. But we also know this: we cannot back down. We can’t stop fighting, speaking up, and sharing our stories. Even when we’re tired. Even when it feels hopeless. Even when it hurts.

Because this is our home. And we have work to do.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for standing with us. We hope you’re hanging in there. We hope you’re finding peace where you can. And we hope, one day, we can all feel proud of this country again.

With love,

Jose & Haley Galarza