For voters from immigrant families and new citizens, voting is bigger than themselves

Nicole Solis-Sison on the day she became a naturalized citizen. Solis-Sison first came to the U.S. from the Philippines when she was 7.

Courtesy of Nicole Solis-Sison

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Courtesy of Nicole Solis-Sison

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 an American citizen. Now, at the age of 34, Solis-Sison is voting in her very first election in New York City.

“This is like such a milestone year for me that I’m a first time voter. I created my own voter guide and voter diary,” she said.

Ahead of voting in her first election in 2026, Nicole Solis-Sison made herself a voter guide and election diary.

Courtesy of Nicole Solis-Sison

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Courtesy of Nicole Solis-Sison

Many young voters, including Solis-Sison, are worried about their future. Will they be able to buy a home? How will they pay off their student loans? Is it economical to start a family?

But this midterm election, the motivation for voting is a little different for some young people with immigrant family members and for newly naturalized citizens.

Solis-Sison considers herself lucky. As she heads to the polls for the first time, she said her immigrant experience is informing her vote. She feels a responsibility.

“I feel like I do have a weight to protect people who are going through this process, who are getting left behind and harmed because when I tell you, I’ve only gotten out of it with like a sliver of hope,” she said.

The power of voting

Juan Escalante didn’t know he was undocumented growing up in south Florida.

Originally from Venezuela, his family moved to the states when he was 11 years old. He said he lived a normal life in America but that changed when he discovered he wasn’t legally allowed to be in the U.S. around his junior year of high school.

“Basically, what ended up happening was that my parents paid for a lawyer who gave them really bad advice and not only gave them bad advice, but also mishandled their immigration case entirely,” Escalante said.

He added when something happens like that, the immigration application can’t simply be refiled, “you’re kind of out of the line entirely.” His immigration status changed under the Obama administration when the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program was established.

Under the program, he became the first person in his family to graduate college. Then, in 2025, he became the first American citizen in his family. This year, at 37, he will vote in his first general election.

Juan Escalante became a U.S. citizen in 2025, the first in his family.

Courtesy of Juan Escalante

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Courtesy of Juan Escalante

“Being a first time voter here in the United States is something that’s profoundly personal and emotional for me because I understand the power of what a vote can do in service of the greater good, in service of the community, in service of the of the future that you want to see for your community, your state and your country.”

“I’m proud to be an American citizen,” Escalante said.

When he first received his mail-in ballot, Escalante had mixed emotions. He was thrilled to cast a vote, but as a California resident, he found himself overwhelmed by the sheer size of his ballot. But that didn’t stop him from meticulously researching every last ballot proposition and candidate. To him, it’s something he’s worked the majority of his life for.

“Despite the amount of bubbles that I had to fill in and the amount of research that I had to do, I never once took that for granted as I was filling out my ballot,” he said.

Juan Escalante voted for the first time in the 2025 California special election on redistricting and framed his “I Voted” sticker.

Courtesy of Juan Escalante

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Courtesy of Juan Escalante

But he did want to make sure that his vote supported his family and community. Though his parents are both green card holders, he said it doesn’t stop anyone in the family from worrying about their future status. So, when he was spending tons of time trying to figure out which politician to vote for, immigration was at the top of his mind.

“I do want to make sure that my values as an immigrant, as the first of my family to vote and also as a Latino to make sure that all of that is carried and translated through to my ballot,” he said.

Mixed status families

24-year-old Deisy España of Wisconsin also feels the weight of her family’s immigrant history. España is from a mixed-status family. While she was born in the U.S. and has always been a citizen, her parents are from Mexico. Growing up, both of her parents were undocumented.

España said she didn’t understand the risks to her parents when she was younger, like when her parents got pulled over by the police while driving.

“My mom would start, like, doing the sign of the cross or praying and I never understood what that fear was until I got much older and realized that they were scared that they were going to get turned over to ICE,” she said.

Some of that has changed. Her mom recently obtained a green card. But the fear hasn’t completely dissipated. ICE has been in the news a lot since President Trump returned to office. Every time España encounters someone whose family member has been taken by ICE, or reads about an ICE related death, the same thing runs through her head.

“That could have been my dad,” she said.

Immigration policy has always been a priority for España and she has always been politically active, despite not being old enough to vote until 2020. But she said more feels at risk this election, especially with Trump’s hardline stance on immigration and ICE agents arresting people who look like her parents. España said she carries more than just her views into the ballot box.

“I’m voting for my parents. I have to do it for my parents who can’t vote. But even now, more than ever,” España said.

That has been España’s message for other young voters with immigrant families. Don’t vote for yourself. Vote for your parents.

23-year-old Leydi Gonzalez of Texas is in a similar position as España. While she is an American citizen, both of Gonzalez’s parents are from El Savador. She said the number one thing she was looking forward to once she turned 21 years old was helping her parents gain legal status.

“When I turned 21, the first thing that I was excited for was to finally petition my parents. It wasn’t drinking,” she said.

Now, thanks to Gonzalez’s sponsorship, they have authorization to be in the U.S. They’re in the system and crossing their fingers for residency approval.

While there is a layer of legal protection for her parents, Gonzalez is still worried something could happen. Gonzalez said her family started having conversations about who would take care of her siblings if her parents were detained or deported when Trump was first elected president.

“That is a scary conversation to have. Like, ‘Hey, just in case something unknown happens to your parents, this is who you’re gonna be left with,'” Gonzalez explained.

Now, she feels like the stakes are just as high, if not higher. Her community has been rocked by the killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas by an ICE agent. But she does think things are on the precipice of change this election, especially if control of Congress changes.

It’s playing out in her backyard. There is a high profile U.S. Senate race in Texas. While Texas is a reliably red state, Democrat James Talarico has been polling ahead of Republican nominee, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

She said she is voting for her best interest, but it is bigger than that.

“It definitely feels like I’m voting for my family,” Gonzalez said. ” Definitely a sense of security for my family.”

Ekjhalak Hindi

For voters from immigrant families and new citizens, voting is bigger than themselves

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