In recent times the word courage has been thrown out a lot. This concept is used to describe and extraordinary human being but I use it every single day to describe the hard-working Houstonians who are just living their lives in the shadows. The very act of these. men and women waking up every day getting ready and doing things such as taking their kids to school really demonstrates courage. This courage is often met with ridicule or mitigation by those who think life as an undocumented immigrant in our city is easy.
Such is the case of Maria Garcia, whose autistic son was in federal custody for 50 days after members of the Houston Police Department failed to do their job with this differently abled teen. His mother had reported him missing, but HPD didn’t connect that report with the child they picked up.HPD handed the 15-year-old off to Texas Child Protective Services which sent him to federal officials where he remained in custody.
His mother demonstrated courage by calling the police. She demonstrated courage by speaking out for her son. She further demonstrated courage by speaking truth to power and letting our mayor and city council know that what they did to her family was not just.
She did this only to be belittled by city leadership by them implying that she was allowing herself to be used. Nothing is further from the truth. Maria Garcia only used the tools offered to her to amplify her voice. The key difference here is that her courage made an entire city face an uncomfortable situation. And she’s not the only one. There are hundreds of families in Houston who are speaking up every single day and talking about the injustices they are facing because of our broken immigration system. They often get filed as ” just another family” but what we have to realize is that these are our friends; these are our neighbors.
To understand how we arrived at this point it is important to acknowledge three important facts about Houston. First, we are a very large city that is reflective of what the United States population will look like in the next few years. Second, we are a transitionary city meaning we are close enough to the border that people come here to go to other parts of the country but oftentimes end up staying in the city.
Third, Houston, has never been a “Sanctuary City.” These factors are often overlooked in everyday city decisions and in the broader conversation surrounding immigration. This notion further negates all of contributions that immigrants make in a variety of industries, to our diverse cultural landscape and to our amazing food scene. All these facets of immigrant life take courage to show, to express, to exist.
It is time for a local government to show courage. It is time for them to think outside of the box and to stand up for those people who make our city run. It is time to redefine courage not as a unusual task but rather the baseline for leadership in our city. Houston stands at a crossroads where it exhibits what the United States will look like in the next few years so whatever happens here can have a sway on what happens in the rest of our country.
We must not hide behind politics; we must not hide behind identities but rather we must show and exhibit the courage that immigrants exhibit every single day by standing up by showing up and by doing what is right. Our livelihood and our future depend on it.
Cesar Espinosa is executive director of FIEL Houston, an immigrant-led civil rights organization.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.