[INSPRATIONAL MUSIC STING] - Hey folks.

We're now joined by Julie Flores-Castillo, who is Youth Organizer at the American Friend Service Committee for the New Jersey Immigrant Rights Program.

Julie, good to see you again.

- Thank you so much for having me here today.

Really appreciate it.

- You got it.

And this is part of our "Making a Difference" series.

We're do in cooperation with the Russell Berrie Foundation.

You're a winner of the Making A Difference Award.

We're focusing on the next generation of leaders making a difference.

Tell folks exactly what the New Jersey Immigrant Rights Program is all about and the American Friends Service Committee, please.

- Through American Friends Service Committee and their New Jersey Immigrant Rights Program here in New Jersey has served for over 30 years providing legal services to the immigrant community and also pushing forward for advocacy and policies that help support immigrants here in the state.

And we also do different things with our social workers and also with youth.

- When you were 14, your life changed.

Talk about it.

- When I was 14, my father was deported during my freshman year of high school.

And after that experience, I experienced a lot of trauma and a lot of isolation.

But through the months pass, I actually met an organizer from AFSC, and that's how I was introduced to the world of advocacy and immigrant rights.

- So it's interesting, this horrific situation happens for you and your family.

You're isolated, as you said, you're dealing with trauma.

What caused you, Julie, to not simply get caught up in your own pain and suffering, but rather decide to help others?

- I think for me personally, it was a lot of factors, but one of the things that relates to the work that I do now with education immigration is my eighth grade teacher, Ms.

Cluck, who was a English teacher at Red Bank Middle School, and she talked about civil rights and the Farmer Workers Movement and to speak up for those who aren't seen and at a time without experiencing the trauma, I felt a sense of myself to do something, to learn more.

And I went up to the organizer for American Friend Service Committee here in Monmouth County, Itzel Hernandez.

And I decided right then and there to just share my experience.

Little did I know that it would completely change my life.

- Wow.

You're learning about the Farm Workers Movement, huh?

Let me ask you this, and by the way, people should research Cesar Chavez.

Did you learn about him and the kind of leader he was, talking about making a difference?

- Yes.

Unfortunately, that's the only type of Latin or Mexican American history that I've received here in the United States, or it's just his piece of history over and over again.

But I'm still thankful that I learned that little piece through my English teacher.

Although she wasn't a history teacher, she was teaching all these historical moments and all the moments that happened here in the United States because that gave me a sense of also doing more and a sense of how community and movement can lead to change.

- This is a civil rights issue on many levels.

Lemme follow up on this.

You've said to our producers, you've said publicly that one of your goals is to humanize immigration.

People often talk about the numbers.

How many people crossing the border, how many people not crossing the border right now?

How many people have been detained?

How many people have been taken off the streets by ICE?

Be they here illegally or not, be they having a criminal record or not?

That being said, what do you mean by humanize immigration, Julie?

- In addition to the question that you just asked me, also seeing immigrants as in numbers, as in they provide this much in taxes or many of them make up this kind of workforce.

And when I speak about humanizing the issue, I mean bringing it down so that people who are truly impacted by what's going on every day, immigration is not just a certain issue on either side.

It's an issue that's been affecting people for decades and decades.

There's been no immigration reform in over 30 to 40 years.

And I think most often than not, people forget that these issues affect people that they know, their neighbors, their teachers, students who attend these schools.

And so by me sharing my story, I try and humanize this issue because it's often divided by rhetoric and other stereotypes.

So that's what I try and do by sharing my story and letting others know that I'm not just the only one who's experienced a deportation.

If not, I know other students and young people who have experienced this as well.

- I appreciate and understand that you don't wanna talk about your dad in detail.

I respect that.

We all do.

But there's another side to this that I've been wondering about.

When I first saw you at the Russell Berrie Making a Difference Awards, I've been honored to host MC for 30 years now, before you're even, well before you're even born.

But I'm curious about this.

You're 21 right now, right?

- I actually turned 22 in September recently.

- Congratulations.

- Thank you.

- How do you think, since you talked about humanizing the issue of immigration, how do you think this experience, this fight, this advocacy, has changed you as a person?

- It's changed me as a person in several ways, but I would say for the better because I've been learning about myself, but also learning about how to be a good leader by opening doors for other young people, telling 'em about other opportunities, showing that even when times are very difficult, especially right now, even for young people who have experienced something like I have, there is a sense of community.

There's a village who's willing to fight for me, for other people, for so many others.

And that through all this, resilience will always overcome.

So in that sense, that's how it's truly changed me through knowing that resilience exists in all different types of ways.

- Hmm.

This isn't a political question, but people will take whatever they choose to take from it.

But what would you say to, given your experience, not just personally, but also as an advocate, what would you say to the president?

What would you say to ICE agents, be they masked or not?

Saying all we're really trying to do is remove people who are here illegally.

That's it.

We're just abiding by the law.

You say what to them?

- I would say that this isn't just about immigration.

If not, what we're experiencing right now is a constitutional crisis, whether that be for immigrants and for residents and US citizens overall.

This isn't just an immigration crisis that we're experiencing.

This is a constitutional crisis where we have seen US citizens and other people who have been here legally, who have been detained and have been deported without due process.

So this is a constitutional crisis.

- Have you become more political through this?

- I've always been very political.

- Really?

- I've always been very political.

I would say, after my experience, that's what pushed me to learn more about immigration.

And not just that, but how this country truly works, how government works, but also how to get involved in local politics and also being a candidate myself.

- Are you running for office?

Are you thinking of running for office?

- I'm currently an elected county committee woman for the Red Bank Democratic Party, and I also just recently ran for Red Bank School Board as a- - By the way, that thumbs up was not for the Democratic Party, it is for Julie getting more involved.

Last thing before I let you go, message to other young people who say, "What's the difference what I do?

"The the world is going to hell in a hand basket," which is a weird expression, "But I can't make a difference."

You're making a difference, message to them right now.

Go ahead.

- My message to young people is to not fall into this nihilism, to not fall into this pessimistic attitude, but if not, truly see that there's other young people that are getting motivated and who are getting out and doing something, and to please not let what's going on discourage them in any way because there is so much more and there's always going to be a fight that's worth fighting for.

- Julie, I've said this a million times, well, not a million, but a lot.

I teach, coach, write and try to learn about leadership every day.

I'm pretty sure I know a strong leader when I see her and I see that leader in you, and I wish you all the best, your family all the best, and consider this this space a safe space to share your thoughts and to have a conversation moving forward.

Thank you, Julie.

Appreciate it.

- Thank you so much.

I deeply appreciate it.

- You got it.

I'm Steve Adubato, that's a real leader.

We'll see you next time.

- [Narrator] State of Affairs with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Funding has been provided by The Russell Berrie Foundation.

EJI, Excellence in Medicine Awards.

A New Jersey health foundation program.

PSE&G.

Valley Bank.

Kean University.

New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

The New Jersey Education Association.

And by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Promotional support provided by BestofNJ.com.

And by CIANJ, and Commerce Magazine.

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