On the 41st episode of Immigration Today!, Angeline Chen welcomes Antonio Arellano. Antonio Arellano is the VP of Communications at NextGen America, the nation’s largest youth voting organization which mobilizes millions of young voters every year. He is also a 1st generation immigrant and a former DACA recipient. He has been organizing communities of color in Texas for over a decade. Antonio has worked at some of the most notable newsrooms in America. While at the Houston Chronicle, Antonio advanced digital coverage of a variety of issues impacting one of the most diverse markets in the nation. In 2016, Antonio was offered the opportunity to join ABC News as a social media contributor, where he was instrumental in developing an innovative approach to news dissemination using social media to engage and educate a younger audience. In September 2018, Antonio joined Jolt Initiative, the largest Latino civic engagement organization in Texas, and served as Communications Director. Today, Antonio serves as the Vice President of Communications at NextGen America where he oversees the implementation of a national strategy to increase the progressive power of young Americans and advances economic equity, racial and climate justice as well as efforts to safeguard our democracy. In 2022, Antonio helped NextGen America secure the second-largest youth voter turnout in history. Antonio represents a new era of bold and fearless leadership, emerging from a social climate that is actively demanding fresh perspectives on key issues. His innovative use of digital media and narrative shift work has quickly catapulted Antonio into one of the leading progressive voices in the United States. His work has been mentioned in Time Magazine, MSNBC, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Atlantic, Telemundo, and Univision, among others.
With the upcoming election only a week away, Antonio encourages every single young voter to come out to the polls. In this election, nearly 1/3 of the 36 million Latinos eligible to vote, are between the ages of 18 to 29. So exercising the vote is not just important for the individual, but also important because it plays a huge impact on the policies that affect low income and disenfranchised communities which are often immigrant communities. Voting plays a huge factor in securing protections for DACA individuals who are still battling an uncertain future, it plays a factor in access to reproductive health for migrant communities and much more. Young voters have the power to determine the future of America in this election!
“Consistently, the narrative is that young people don’t vote, that young people don’t turn out, that young people are not a worthwhile investment when it comes to voter registration and mobilization. But anybody that’s been looking at the stats can tell you that in 2020, the Biden-Harris Administration was elected with the largest youth voter turnout in modern American history. In 2022, young voters turned out in record numbers during a midterm election, and this year in 2024, I predict that you will see a substantial amount of young voters that will come out and make their voices heard.”
