First-time voters with immigrant backgrounds are leveraging their ballots to defend vulnerable populations after enduring decades of complex federal legal processes. For instance, former asylum seekers and recipients of deportation relief are balancing immediate concerns like student debt with broader community safeguards. Nicole Solis-Sison, who fled the Philippines as a child, spent over two decades in the system before gaining citizenship and preparing her New York City ballot. Meanwhile, former DACA recipient Juan Escalante is closely vetting California candidates to ensure his decisions support his undocumented family members.
Key points
Many naturalized citizens view voting primarily as an obligation to protect relatives who…: Many naturalized citizens view voting primarily as an obligation to protect relatives who remain navigating the immigration process.
Decades of personal legal battles significantly influence how new citizens evaluate ballo…: Decades of personal legal battles significantly influence how new citizens evaluate ballot measures and political candidates.
Voters from immigrant backgrounds consistently weigh community protection alongside stand…: Voters from immigrant backgrounds consistently weigh community protection alongside standard policy concerns like housing and student loans.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
Nicole Solis-Sison moved to America when she was seven years old. Her parents and immediate family were fleeing the Philippine government and sought asylum in the U.S.
When they landed in Los Angeles, Solis-Sison thought their stay would be temporary. Eventually, once things calmed down in her home country, they would return. That wasn't the case.
"The Philippine government pursued us in international immigration territory and demanded that we be sent back," she told NPR.
That's when an agent with the then-Immigration and Naturalization Services agency — which has since been renamed Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE — showed up to her house. They were prepared to be deported. But after the agent interviewed her family, they weren't packing their bags back to Manila.
"This particular INS [Immigration and Naturalization Services] agent suggested that we should file for asylum, given that we were on U.S. soil," Solis-Sison said.
An immigration agent, Solis-Sison said, gave her family the tools needed to stay in the U.S. legally. Earlier this year, after more than two decades navigating the immigration system, she became…
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