Ana Aguyo Jenkins holds her son Mateo while celebrating becoming a naturalized citizen in 2023. (Courtesy photo)
Holding her two-year-old son with one hand while raising the other, Ana Aguayo-Jenkins recited an oath to become a naturalized United States citizen during a ceremony in Fort Smith last year.
This month, the Mexican immigrant posed for a photo with her husband and baby daughter after voting for the first time.
“It felt like a dream fulfilled and also part of the responsibility as a new citizen to participate in the democratic process,” she said.
When Donald Trump was declared the winner of the presidential election, Aguayo-Jenkins’ elation turned to concern. Not only has Trump promised to carry out mass deportations and end birthright citizenship , his pick for deputy chief of staff for policy, Stephen Miller, has proposed a program to strip naturalized citizens of their U.S. citizenship.
“While it feels wildly outrageous, I still don’t know…So that builds a level of anxiety,” she said. “It also erodes a level of the beautiful promise that is this country formed by immigrants. It’s like we’re being selective about what immigrants get to stay versus those that don’t.”