A FORUM FOR COMMUNITY ISSUES : Platform : Immigrants on Voting: ‘Americans Can Stand Up and Speak’ : GABRIEL NAVARRO, 28, Mexico / <i> Building manager, South Los Angeles</i>

I am 100% nopalero. You know what that means? It’s like when they want to represent a Mexican, they show a little man in a big hat asleep next to a big cactus. A nopal cactus. That is nopalero. It means you are 100% Mexican, you love your country, you are proud to be Mexican.

I came here illegally from Mexico five years ago. When the amnesty began, my application for citizenship got rejected because of technicalities. My boss helped me a lot to get permanent residency. And a few weeks ago I went back to Mexico to start again the process of becoming a U.S. citizen. When I first came here I just wanted to be a free man, to avoid corruption, to do something for my family. But now I want to be a citizen. As a citizen I can make my voice heard here. In Mexico, there’s too much corruption. But here, when I vote, who knows? Maybe my vote will make a difference.