It’s not just members of Congress and other politicians or TV personalities speaking at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. So-called everyday Americans are taking the big stage in the speaker lineup too.
Peruvian immigrant Vanessa Faura told former President Donald Trump and delegates gathered in the convention hall Monday night about her experience as a legal immigrant and inflation’s impact on America’s mothers.
Born in Peru, Faura said she moved to the U.S. with her family when she was 9 years old.
“Like millions of legal immigrants, my family didn’t begin our pursuit of the American dream by breaking the law: We respected America, and we wanted to earn our citizenship,” Fuara said.
At 18, Faura said, she achieved one of her greatest aspirations when she became a U.S. citizen.
When she asked her father what political party she should join, Faura said he replied, “We’re Hispanics. We vote Democrat.”
But the more she learned, Faura recalled, she noticed that her values didn’t align with the Democratic Party.
She said she believes that the family is “the most important institution,” the U.S. Constitution “is the greatest document in history,” and every human “born and unborn is made in the image of God.”
As manager of partnerships and coalitions at the organization Restoration of America, a group dedicated to teaching Americans about issues such as abortion and the sanctity of life, Faura said, she has “had the honor of meeting thousands of moms since Biden took office.”
She said she hears one dominant message from mothers of various backgrounds: “The cost of living is making it harder to meet basic needs.”
Mothers are “reaching down to the bottom shelf just to save 25 cents,” she said, and “grandmothers who should be enjoying their golden years are working again to barely make ends meet.”
These days America feels more like she is back in Latin America, Faura said.
“Under the Biden-Harris agenda, we’re no longer living, we’re surviving,” she said.
But under Trump, Hispanic unemployment hit record lows and income reached a record high, she said. Faura ended her speech by addressing “fellow Hispanic Americans” as well as “all Americans,” saying that “if you believe in faith, family, freedom, [and] financial stability,” they should join her in voting for Trump.