Here are the Top Issues Young People in Cicero Care About for the Presidential Election
By April Alonso and Irene Romulo
Photos by April Alonso
Latinx people will be the second-largest voter group in the U.S. this year. Nationwide, a record 32 million young, Latinx people will be eligible to vote and one in ten of those voters will be between the ages of 18-23.
In Cicero, people between the ages of 18-24 make up just over 12% of the population. For this election, 3,612 of voters from this age group have registered to vote (compared to 4,500 of people between the ages of 25-34 and 10,353 of people 65+).
We went out to talk to young people about the upcoming presidential elections. We asked them about who they are thinking of supporting, what information they need and where they get their information. We also asked all of them, “What social issues are important to you that you want the future president to care about?” Here’s what some of them had to say:
Melissa Mendez, 18, is an undecided first time voter.
“For the president, I’ll be [focusing] on what they will do for immigrants because I do have a lot of family who are immigrants and they barely got their papers and it was a lot of work because of Trump. I hope we get a good president that helps immigrants, someone that has their backs and doesn’t keep them away from their families and their loved ones.”
Kiera Hampton, 16, will not be voting this year but encouraged other young voters to do their research and look at what the candidates stand for.
“If you don’t vote we’ll have someone like Trump again. I think you should not only look at their past but also do your research about what they do and what they stand for and not just what they say in their ads...do your research and make sure you actually know what is going on with these candidates.
Immigration [is important] because what they are doing to the families at the border is not okay at all. It's basically just another Holocaust just undercover and legal basically.”
Christian Juarez, 17, works at Mcdonald’s and is so far undecided about what presidential candidate he will support.
“I feel global warming is really shocking and one of the biggest issues of this generation. Also, I feel like immigration and civil rights and all that because...discrimination, bullying, racism are not okay.
[A president should] make it easier for immigrants to get their papers. For example, there’s people who have been living here, and all immigrants pay taxes but they don’t get the benefits that us Americans get. They benefit the economy, they work for people, they make this nation run.
People should vote for whoever you think is the best option and not because other people tell you to do it. Do your research, that’s what I’m going to do.”
Jose Padilla, 21, will be voting for the first time this year and is still undecided.
“I’m nervous. I’m not too informed about what’s going on. Inclusivity...like, what’s going on with the LGBT community, what’s going on with people who aren’t legal here. That’s something we should be talking about more. These are going to be my two main things I’m going to be looking for because I’m part of the LGBTQ community so I wanna see more inclusivity.”
Jesus “Chuy” Fuentes, 17, is an undecided first time voter from Cicero.
“There were a lot of people that didn’t know about the wildfires in Australia. There were a lot of people making jokes about World War III starting, about what Trump was doing. I think [the wildfires] were rather serious because they took out a lot of Australian animals. I don’t know if you know how many koalas died? It was a significant amount. I think definitely conserving nature is a big issue I care about.”
Juan Ramos, 20, will be voting for the first time this year.
“I had the chance to vote this past election but I never did because I was in high school and I didn’t know how to sign up to vote. Mainly [I care about] healthcare, because my family has a lot of health issues. My family has always been in debt...they always have to go to the hospital or something always happens to them and they always have to pay a large amount of money for it and I always wanted someone who cared about that...and immigrants. My family, my grandparents, they're immigrants. They come every now and then to stay at our house and everything but it’s really hard for them. But those are the two things I really look forward to.”
Yamilet “Mimi” Celis, 19, currently works as the DACA Scholar Liaison for the Cicero Community Collaborative. She will be voting for the first time and is undecided about who to support.
“I’m not sure yet but someone who is not Trump. Someone who is a Democrat. I would like for this country to be a safe space for everyone and I feel like Trump has created an extreme amount of hatred toward Hispanic culture and immigrants. What makes the United States so beautiful [is] that there’s so many different cultures and so many different people and I would like for this upcoming president to be someone that accepts everyone, who provides good health care services for everyone. Someone who cares about our environment would be great because our planet is going to waste.
College! Free College! That would be amazing...for me especially, I was supposed to be a freshman in college this year but I didn’t go to college because I didn’t want to be in debt forever.”
Damian De La Torre Gonzalez, 18, hasn’t decided who he will support for president.
“I really want to thank my civics teacher because she’s the one that helped because I didn’t even know how to register.
I feel like a lot of what has to do with the community is important. I want everything to be fair for people, everyone to have equal opportunities and everyone to have a good life. I feel like immigration is a really big topic. My parents always want to know that their neighbors are safe, that everyone on the block is safe. They want everyone to have a good life and I agree. I think everyone should have an opportunity to live a different life here.”
We produced a short voter information guide based on feedback from many of the young people we spoke with. If you still haven’t registered to vote and need information on how to do so, check it out here.
