The questions come up all too often: How many undocumented persons are in Madison? How many undocumented clients does Centro Hispano serve? Were you documented when you came to this country?

When speaking of Latinos, we are overly fixated on legal status. It is true that being undocumented leaves you in the shadows without access to basic rights and strips you of your dignity as a human being. But even despite documentation, our health and well-being continue to worsen the longer we are here in this country.

Over time we are burdened by the struggles of fitting in, being accepted, being respected, not considered in decision-making, or being engaged in civic life. Our lives become overwhelmed with the chronic stress of life in communities where no matter how long you have lived there, the word “immigrant” can be followed by judgment. Being undocumented significantly affects our lives; but it only represents a part of our struggle.

Centro Hispano Executive Director Karen Menendez Coller
Centro Hispano Executive Director Karen Menendez Coller

I often reflect on why I speak out for the rights of our Latino community. I was born in El Salvador and didn’t really establish roots in this country until I was a teenager. After living here for close to 30 years, this has become my home country. It is an injustice to deny that identity to me or to so many others who came here searching for stability, freedom and a future that politics in our countries of origin stole from us.

We deserve to feel comfortable here. As a Latina, I represent the fastest-growing minority group in Madison, Dane County and Wisconsin. We are the second-largest ethnic group behind non-Hispanic Whites in this country. We are much of the labor force driving the economy, as well as the millennials generating new initiatives and innovative ideas across many cities. Why are our rights something we have to fight for so vehemently? Why is this country so afraid of differences, and why do we continue to put people into buckets that divide us and lessen our “American-ness”?

We are not “aliens” or “illegals.” Nor are we dangerous. Words matter, so choose them wisely. We are human beings, striving for the best life possible, just like everyone else. Decades of civil war and community unrest have torn apart our dreams in our home countries. Like all people, we are not perfect, but it is unjust to expect us to be more perfect than anyone else, especially given the barriers we seek to overcome.

How many undocumented persons are in Madison? That is the wrong question. Ask instead: What we are doing to support Latinos in Madison?

In 2016, let us be reflective, ask the right questions and recognize that the current anti-immigrant policy rhetoric is wrong. Building walls, promoting blind deportations, and discriminatively closing borders is unnecessary and immoral. It is unjust, and it takes our country backwards. Immigrant children deserve the best education and the chance to aspire to reach dreams set forth by their families — so many of whom have sacrificed everything to be here. We need to create a system that will empower our Latino community, driven by a commitment from businesses, non-profits and the community-at-large.

If we don’t, as a country we will falter.