270 Reasons: Because Kamala Knows That Immigrants Are America’s Strength

Our friends at 270 Reasons are gathering a polyphonic orchestra of brilliant writers, teachers, doctors, filmmakers, artists, and citizens of all kinds to weigh in about their plans to vote this November. These opinion essays run the gamut from advocacy for basic human rights to acutely personal mini-manifestoes. Read the rest over at 270 Reasons.

Because Kamala Knows That Immigrants Are America’s Strength

Kamala Harris is the proud daughter of immigrants. Like her mother, I moved to America from South Africa at nineteen with dreams of changing the world. This was a country of endless possibility. I vividly remember freezing in the National Mall with friends as Barack Obama, the son of an immigrant, was inaugurated.

Then Trump won eight years later. He told me I was an immigrant from a shithole country, and he made me feel like it, too. The 2016 election result was devastating for immigrant communities, but hope was still alive. Kamala Harris was elected to the Senate that same year. She stood up to Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda. She pushed back on the Muslim ban; grilled the Homeland Security secretary over child separations and favoring white immigrants; demanded an investigation into a transgender woman who died in ICE custody; decried the weaponization of the Census Bureau and government programs like SNAP and Medicaid to scare immigrants; fought for the rights of immigrant caregivers, domestic workers, and farmworkers; and advocated for dreamers. She was our champion.

When Joe Biden chose her to be his running mate, I posted this: “The past few years have been rough in Trump’s America. As a Black immigrant, it’s been almost unbearable. As a Black woman, I needed this. I had damn near lost faith in the American dream. Kamala is a queen. I am there to help any way I can.”

As a noncitizen, I can’t vote for Kamala Harris, but I can use my voice to get out the vote. Kamala will be a president for EVERYONE who lives in this country. Trump wants to get rid of birthright citizenship, enact mass deportations, and ban immigration from countries whose citizens look like me, Kamala’s parents, and Barack’s father. Immigration is our strength, and President Kamala Harris will make sure families like mine have the chance to thrive. She is our wildest dreams.

Qondi Ntini is an African immigrant, advocate, fundraiser, and content creator who founded Thirst For Democracy to promote long-term civic engagement.

Read more essays (with new ones added every day) at 270reasons.com.

The arguments here represent the opinion of the authors and not necessarily those of the McSweeney’s Literary Arts Fund.