Maria Peinado, Albuquerque, NM

Maria was a 1950s baby in a highland village of central Mexico, the third of fifteen kids. Instead of kindergarten or elementary school, Maria learned how to grind corn and pat out tortillas, how to sweep the patio and simmer a perfect sopa de arroz. Her first set of children came early, and her first husband left fast. So it’s safe to say that few from Maria’s native village would recognize the woman who today is streaking across Albuquerque, rallying the troops for immigrant rights.

It began in June of 2007 when Maria saw an ad on TV for a citizenship fair that ACORN was throwing. “Ya es hora,” she told herself solemnly, “it’s time.” So she filled out her application at the fair and began attending bi-weekly citizenship classes at the Albuquerque ACORN office. In the classes she learned the info she’d need to pass her naturalization test, but then the organizer-teachers would talk about other stuff, like civil rights and the ways she could become more engaged in her community.

Soon, a city council election rolled around in Albuquerque and the organizers asked for volunteers to campaign for an immigrant-friendly candidate, Rey Garduño. To her surprise, Maria raised her hand. She was often too scared to say a word in class, but Rey had inspired her when he spoke at ACORN, so she suddenly found herself going door-to-door talking him up. And it liberated her. “I enjoyed everything about it,” Maria says.“I didn’t even care when they slammed the door in my face!” Rey won the election in a landslide, and Maria’s life as an activist had begun.

The following months held much for Maria. She helped organize another citizenship fair, learning how to fill out the applications herself and then bringing half a dozen volunteers with her. She helped pull together a large meeting for a local immigration campaign, speaking in front of many dozens of people for the first time in her life. And she stunned everyone with her fundraising and turn-out for a large action protesting a citizenship application backlog.

But what most thrills Maria is what’s to come. ACORN is beginning a new campaign to change the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s policy of breaking apart families with deportations.

“Family is everything,” she says, and while she has not personally lost anyone to a deportation, she knows others who have and burns about it. So in 2008, Maria will help spearhead the Albuquerque chapter of the national push, collaborating with other organizations and turning out hundreds of members to fight for family unity.

But first Maria is going to pass her citizenship test, register to vote, and begin expressing her voice in this American democracy.

“I’ve never voted before,” she admits with that bashful grin of a village girl from Mexico.“But I’m ready. I’m ready to make the U.S. better with my vote, to create more opportunities for families, for everyone.”

For more info on this story, please contact:
Matthew Henderson, ACORN, 505-379-6947 nmacorn@acorn.org