Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's immigrants sometimes feel they don't have a place in the political system in Utah or aren't quite sure how to participate, says Liliana Bolaños of UT With All Immigrants.
Nevertheless, they do have a place and should take part, she said. And to hit the message home, she and representatives from other groups that work with immigrants gathered Tuesday at the Utah Capitol as part of Immigrant Day on the Hill.
"Our main message was regardless of immigration status, your voice matters and needs to be heard," said Bolaños, whose organization advocates for the immigrant community. "At the end of the day, we are all human beings."
The event, organized by Voices for Utah Children, was held in the rotunda of the Capitol, with music, dancing and informational booths. Thaiss Del Rio, immigrant family policy analyst with Voices for Utah Children, an advocacy group, said a big aim of Tuesday's initiative was promoting empowerment.
"I think often our community is not aware they can participate," she said. "They don't know they can come up here and be part of the session."
Around 280,000 immigrants live in Utah, including around 117,000 naturalized citizens, legal permanent residents, undocumented immigrants and more, according to data provided by Voices for Utah Children. That amounts to 8.4% of Utah's population. The biggest single bloc of immigrants, 36.2% of them, come from Mexico, followed by Brazil, 3.7%; El Salvador and India, 3.1% each; and several other countries.
Del Rio said one of her more specific messages to immigrants is that they can testify during Utah's legislative session and speak out to lawmakers on issues of import to them. "They can have a voice in the session. They do have a voice in the session," she said.
Voices for Utah Children didn't organize Tuesday's event to advocate on any issue in particular, but some of the broad areas of concern for immigrants, Del Rio said, are health care, child care and workers' rights. "I think there's a lot of potential to make an impact and to make change within our community," she said.
Undocumented immigrants, in particular, may steer clear from the political system — ashamed, perhaps, or worried about deportation if they get too vocal, according to Bolaños. She was undocumented, she said, though she's since normalized her migratory status through the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.
But they, too, should be vocal and active. "Events like this teach them they have rights regardless of their immigration status," she said.
