\u201cLet\u2019s go to a protest,\u201d I told my 10-year-old youngest sister. Her big, dark brown eyes glared back at me intently. \u201cWhy?\u201d she responds. \u201cIt\u2019s not gonna make a difference.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A month before my little sister\u2019s devastating comment, our town and others like it in California\u2019s San Joaquin Valley were unexpectedly raided in January by the U.S. Border Patrol. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although Border Patrol alleged that their arrests were focused on dismantling \u201ctransnational criminal organizations,\u201d<\/a> community organizations and members in the San Joaquin Valley remarked that farm workers were the primary targets of these raids,<\/a> sparking fear and uncertainty throughout the region. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, I could not stomach this utter display of disillusionment and apathy from my sister, especially from a child. So, I dragged her to the protest, hoping her feelings and views would change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Hundreds of people gathered at our town\u2019s most trafficked intersection, waving Mexican flags, holding pro-immigrant and anti-Trump signs, and some wearing traditional Aztec dance attire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n My little sister leaped and yelled with joy, pumping her fist in the air, and my inner 10-year-old self also healed, as I had never witnessed a demonstration like this before in my own community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since April 2024, college students across the nation, from Columbia University<\/a> to my academic institution of UC Santa Barbara<\/a>, have staged demonstrations in support of Palestinians in Gaza and anti-war. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While college campuses and students in major cities nationwide are making headlines, a quieter yet equally powerful movement is unfolding: Latinx youth in rural and small town America are organizing protests against U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s anti-immigration policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rural and small town America is more diverse than ever. Latinxs have significantly contributed to this population growth and demographic change,<\/a> accounting for 10.3%<\/a> of the rural American population in 2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While politics in the San Joaquin Valley tend to lean conservative<\/a>, pro-immigrant protests like the one in my hometown are evidence of the power of Latinx youth voice, agency, and activism, which rural and small town America may not be ready for, but Trump and his anti-immigrant rhetoric have awakened. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Many Latinx youth protesting in rural and small town streets are beneficiaries of their parents\u2019 migration to the states, granting them U.S. citizenship and First Amendment protections, including Freedom of Assembly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet, their peaceful gatherings have been met with policing, arrests, and even disdain from educators and community members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After attending our town\u2019s protest on February 2nd and encouraging my two younger sisters to participate in the \u201cDay Without Immigrants\u201d<\/a> protest on February 3rd by not attending school, my high school sister shared that some of her teachers expressed that such demonstrations were \u201cpointless\u201d and would have \u201cno outcome\u201d and that students needed to stay in school \u201cto learn.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Learning also occurs outside the classroom and in the streets, and stifling student engagement in politics is a missed learning opportunity that could potentially damage young rural people\u2019s relationship with education, U.S. institutions, and democracy more broadly. This is especially true considering that many rural people already feel left out<\/a> of the national conversation and political agenda. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some rural Latinxs may feel included in Trump\u2019s version of \u201cMake America Great Again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n After all, 43%<\/a> of Latinx voters, primarily men, supported his presidential election in 2024, and even Latinxs in progressive California<\/a> have appeared to move toward Trump and his politics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, a more significant percentage of Latinx voters supported presidential candidate Kamala Harris, at 55%<\/a>, and California\u2019s electorate<\/a> is rapidly changing due to the young, U.S.-born Latinx population, which will age into voter eligibility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Latinx youth\u2019s protests in rural communities and small towns throughout California are proof of this impending demographic and political change and an opportunity to teach and engage youth in conversations they may already be having with their friends and families, including topics of constitutional rights, freedom, voting, policing, dog whistle politics, intersectionality, and activism, among others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n More importantly, it can provide temporarily disillusioned and apathetic youth like my little sister with critical hope that their voices and actions do <\/em>make a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump laid the groundwork for generations of rural Latinx activists, thought leaders, and young, diverse professionals to take center stage in local, state, and national discussions, innovations, and decision-making. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Targeting our family and community members in their work environments and places of leisure will only continue to mobilize us in the streets, classrooms, academia, and beyond as we create our version of a truly just and equitable America. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mayra Puente is a rural Latina, Assistant Professor of higher education at the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Public Voices Fellow of The OpEd Project.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cLet\u2019s go to a protest,\u201d I told my 10-year-old youngest sister. Her big, dark brown eyes glared back at me […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":5063293,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[501,796,3834,4152,5619],"ppma_author":[6124],"class_list":["post-5063292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","tag-anti-immigration-policies","tag-california","tag-latinx","tag-mexican-community","tag-trump"],"acf":[],"mb":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/caln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/03\/Mexican-flag.jpg",1024,656,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/caln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/03\/Mexican-flag-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/caln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/03\/Mexican-flag-300x192.jpg",300,192,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/caln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/03\/Mexican-flag-768x492.jpg",768,492,true],"large":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/caln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/03\/Mexican-flag.jpg",1024,656,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/caln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/03\/Mexican-flag.jpg",1024,656,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/caln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/03\/Mexican-flag.jpg",1024,656,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Mayra Puente","author_link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/caln\/author\/mayra-puente\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"\u201cLet\u2019s go to a protest,\u201d I told my 10-year-old youngest sister. 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