Micaela Aragon, a political activist since the age of 13, now also votes

Micaela Aragon was only 13 when she became involved in her first election campaign. It was 2016, and Bernie Sanders was the nominee. Now that this young immigrant from Peru is preparing to vote in her first election, she reflects on what brought her here.

Bernie’s campaign “was the first time in my life that I actually saw a person in office who wasn’t necessarily boring, but a person who actually inspired you and talked about things I’d really like to see in this country,” says Micaela. “That’s what really inspired me in my political activism, and I haven’t stopped since.”

When Micaela thinks about her vote, she doesn’t just think about the presidency. Other races in local government, state and Congress also matter.

“It’s important that we have a Democratic Senate that can actually make changes,” says Micaela. “We are currently very regressive or motionless.”

As with many immigrant families, Micaela would like to see immigration reform that allows immigrants a true path to citizenship.

“I myself have seen how complicated and expensive it is to become a resident or citizen in this country, and that’s not right,” she says. “I have family and friends who are undocumented. And I wish they could also live with the same freedom and have the same opportunities that I already have.”

Micaela’s family was hit this year by the COVID-19 pandemic when her father became ill. He didn’t have health insurance because that would cost the family $400 a month.

“It was a very difficult time for my family,” says a pensive Micaela. “If he had ended up in the hospital, “we were going to have a lot of debts that we wouldn’t know how to cover. No family should worry about that when their loved one is sick. The concern should be about the health of the person, not the economic situation.”

Micaela is in her freshman year at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and studies public affairs and political science. She would like to become an immigration lawyer, because she sees the confluence between human rights and the rights of immigrants like her and her parents. Afterwards, she thinks she might want to start her own campaign to run for a political position.

It would be a natural trajectory for a young woman who really takes her civic duty seriously. For now, she concentrates on convincing voters to go out to the polls.

“I know there are a lot of people, especially in this election, who don’t want to vote, but it’s very important to realize that our vote is our voice.” she says. “It’s not the only solution. There are many other things we can do, but voting is among them.”