Finishing up a tremendous week-long run as guest host of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Diego Luna sat down with legendary American civil rights activist Dolores Huerta for his final show.
In the must-watch video above, Huerta walks the Andor star through how she finds hope amid the current “dark times” for American immigrants and discusses how Barack Obama altered her famous “Sí Se Puede” slogan (and even leads the audience in a powerful chant). The labor leader also reflects on America’s response to the Trump administration’s harsh immigration enforcement policies and mass deportations — including the recent nationwide protests.
“I think when people see what’s happening in the news — where people are being sent to prisons in other countries, the way people are being treated, the brutality, people being kidnapped off the streets — I think people are really upset and angry,” says Huerta. “We do see that people are protesting; we saw 5 million people on the streets all over the United States of America. People are stepping up.”
When Luna asks Huerta for advice for those facing a “difficult situation” with law enforcement, she offers practical guidance for anyone detained by authorities.
“If they find themselves detained by police or by ICE, number one is: stay silent. Don’t say anything. Don’t give any information at all. The next thing: don’t sign anything either. If they give you a paper to sign, don’t sign it. Then, either memorize a number or have it written on your arm with a little Sharpie — a phone number of someone you can call. If you are detained, they will let you make one phone call,” Huerta explains.
“And of course, if you can, ahead of time, make sure you have an attorney and that someone will be able to reach that attorney and let them know where you are.”
Diego Luna closed the program by asking her to chant the immortal slogan: Yes, we can. And she added, for all the haters who are surely listening: Yes, we can.
