“People are afraid, people are scared, people are stressed, people are reactive,” Clouthier said.
There has been a lot of controversy over the use of the Mexican flag in protests against ICE in the United States. Additionally, the President of Mexico has been blamed for promoting these protests among Mexican communities, even though that was not the case.
This is why the opinion of Tatiana Clouthier is important. She is the director of the Institutes for Mexicans Abroad under Claudia Sheinbaum’s government and one of the most influential voices in Mexican politics.
“When you’re in a crowd [of protesters], any spark that flies ignites,” she recalled her father — former presidential candidate and Mexican political icon Manuel Clouthier — saying during an interview with Mexico News Daily.
For that reason, Clouthier said she has long advocated for protesters to act with caution and avoid any acts of violence while expressing their demands during demonstrations. More concisely: “prudencia, exigencia y no violencia” — prudence, demand, and nonviolence. “We must follow the example of Cesar Chavez. With his nonviolent leadership of protests, he ‘moved rivers of people.’”
Those are Tatiana Clouthier’s words of advice to Mexicans in the United States who are protesting or considering protesting against immigration raids, such as those recently carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Los Angeles.
“People are afraid, people are scared, people are stressed, people are reactive,” Clouthier said.
There is fear of going to work due to the risk of arrest and deportation. Fear of going to school. Fear of going to Western Union to send remittances back home.
As a result, Clouthier added in the interview, mental health issues are becoming increasingly prevalent among members of immigrant communities in the U.S.
In addition to the fear of being detained by ICE, some immigrants are also afraid that the money in their U.S. bank accounts might be seized, leading them to withdraw their savings and keep cash at home.
“We must follow the example of Cesar Chavez. With his nonviolent leadership of protests, he ‘moved rivers of people.’”
“People are taking money out of banks and putting it under their pillows,” she said.
“…We’ve said that no one has the right to take your money from your bank, but there is fear,” Clouthier emphasized.
As deportation numbers rise and ICE continues to conduct raids, Clouthier stressed the importance of Mexican workers — including undocumented ones — to the U.S. economy.
Clouthier said that “every time you eat a strawberry” in the United States and “every time you drink a glass of California wine,” you should remember the fundamental role of Mexican labor in the cultivation, harvesting, and production of agricultural goods in the U.S.
“Every time you eat a hamburger,” she added, also pointing to the key role of Mexican labor in the U.S. construction industry.
