In Mexico, there is a commonly-used proverb: “They tried to bury us, but they didn’t know we were seeds.”  

As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, I find myself reflecting on these words and what it means to be Latino in America at a moment when our histories, identities and belonging in this country are increasingly being challenged.  

There is an effort underway to erase or diminish what it means to be Hispanic in this nation, replacing a rich and complicated history with a false narrative that treats our presence as recent, our contributions as peripheral, and our place in the United States as somehow conditional.

But our story does not begin at the border. 

Spanish-speaking communities were established in parts of what would become the United States long before the Declaration of Independence was signed. And from the earliest days of our nation to today, generations of Latinos have helped shape the country we know, contributing to its economy, culture, communities, and democracy. 

Hispanic Americans' legacy is not abstract. It is all around us.

A Somber Hispanic Heritage Month: Discrimination, ICE, and Fear of Voting 

And yet, despite the richness of that history and the magnitude of those contributions, Hispanic Heritage Month — which should be a time of celebration — feels more somber this year. 

We have watched an unconstitutional challenge to birthright citizenship threaten one of the most fundamental promises of American citizenship. We have seen anti-Latino bias grow, alongside a sharp rise in hate crimes targeting Latinos. Preliminary FBI data shows that anti-Latino hate crimes reached a record high in 2025, making Latinos one of the three most targeted groups for the first time in more than three decades of recorded data.  

I cannot help but draw a connection between that rise and a broader climate in which Latino identity is increasingly being politicized, attacked, and treated as something to be feared rather than a fundamental part of the American story. 

Our Heritage, Our Future: The Journey of a Latino Ballot

For me, this is personal. 

As a Latina, it is impossible to separate the rhetoric and actions we are witnessing from the very real fear they create in Latino communities. These are not abstract policy debates that exist somewhere far away in Washington. They reach into families and neighborhoods. They affect whether people feel safe going to work, sending their children to school, or. gathering in their communities, 

We have seen Immigration and Customs Agents (ICE) use a five-year-old child as bait in Minnesota. We have seen deadly encounters involving US citizens and increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement tactics. Now, as we approach the November elections, even the possibility of federal immigration agents appearing at or near polling places has introduced another layer of fear into an act that should be among the most ordinary and empowering things a person can do: casting a ballot. 

The administration has sent mixed signals about whether federal immigration agents could appear at polling locations. While the Department of Homeland Security has said ICE is not planning operations targeting polling places, senior administration officials have declined to categorically rule out agents being present in certain circumstances. That uncertainty alone matters. 

Because when a community is already living with the fear of immigration enforcement, the prospect of encountering federal immigration agents on the way to vote cannot simply be dismissed as hypothetical. 

It raises a fundamental question: What happens when fear itself becomes a barrier to participation? 

Civil rights organizations have now gone to court arguing that the threat of federal agents at polling places could intimidate voters and suppress participation. Lawsuits have been filed this month, including one brought by several of our partners. The plaintiffs argue that the presence or threat of armed federal agents could have a particularly chilling effect on Latino voters and naturalized citizens. 

The League itself has spoken out about the inhumane actions of ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), demanding accountability for their violent actions and repeatedly urging the rejection of further ICE and Border Patrol funding. As the midterms approach, we’re deeply committed to ensuring every Latino voter (and every voter in general) can exercise their freedom to vote without fear. 

As more than one-fifth of the US population, Latino communities are forces to be reckoned with in American elections. But our significance as voters should never be the reason we are targeted, intimidated, or made to feel that participating in our democracy carries a risk. 

Why Hispanic Heritage Month Matters 

The right to vote belongs to all of us. So does the right to belong. 

And that is why Hispanic Heritage Month matters this year perhaps more than ever. It is not simply an opportunity to celebrate our food, our music, our language, or our traditions, although those things are beautiful and worthy of celebration. It is an opportunity to tell the truth about who we are and where we come from. 

We are not newcomers to the American story. We are not a footnote to it. We are not a political constituency to be courted when convenient and vilified when it is not. 

And perhaps that is what the proverb about the seeds reminds us: attempts to bury a people do not erase them. Rather, they can deepen their roots, strengthen their resolve, and make their presence impossible to ignore. 

We are here. We have always been here. And we will continue to grow, just like the rose, the national flower of the United States. 

We will grow not despite the thorns, but through them. We will bloom in our communities, in our culture, in our spaces, and at the ballot box. 

That is why this Hispanic Heritage Month, I am asking our community to do more than celebrate our history. Let us exercise our power. Register to vote. Make a plan to vote. Help your family, your friends, and your neighbors make their voices heard. Learn what is on your ballot, know your rights, and show up, not because anyone is giving us permission to belong, but because we already do. One place to do so is at VOTE411.org, or VOTE411.org/es if you prefer to get your election information in Spanish! 

They may try to bury us. 

But they should know by now: we are seeds. And we will grow. 

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month.