Comic: Can undocumented immigrants afford to have New Year’s resolutions?

Man holding a sign reading "No human being is illegal."

(Julio Salgado / For De Los )

By Julio Salgado

Jan. 10, 2024 1:44 PM PT

Are New Year’s resolutions still a thing when dangerous actions from politicians continue to attack the most vulnerable?

Growing up as an undocumented immigrant meant that every New Year carried the possibility of immigration reform

The hopeful part of me put too much trust in politicians who promised to fix our broken system.

Even now as a 40-year-old adult with DACA, that hopeful part of me peeks out and tells me this is the year we get papers.

Then I scroll through my newsfeed and come back to reality

It's worrisome how one can easily become so used to xenophobic comments about immigrants.

I suppose it's easier to make fun of a politicians mass deportation fantasies than to walk around everyday scared.

How does an undocumented immigrant even have the emotional capacity to make a New Year's resolution?

I try to list the things that brought me some joy in 2023 to get some inspiration for a New Year's resolution.

But that list inevitably takes a dire turn. "The world is burning"

As long as we don't lose empathy for each other and continue to speak up, we might just be OK.

Julio Salgado (@juliosalgado83) is a digital illustrator based in Long Beach.

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