Immigration is something that takes an emotional toll on many Latino immigrants living in the U.S., and celebrities are no exception. Diane Guerrero’s parents were deported when she was a young girl and she knows firsthand of how difficult this experience could be for young children. She even wrote a book called “In the Country We Love” and she recently visited Northwestern University where she opened up about her struggle with alcohol abuse, severe depression, self-harm, and suicidal ideation.
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“It was as if somebody stole my voice and I’ve been working to get it back,” says Guerrero. She still continues to struggle with depression and anxiety but finds that talking about it helps her. Unfortunately, this type of trauma is very common among Latinx youth, especially those residing in the U.S. under the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program. “The biggest hindrance for any human being able to move forward is mental health, especially at this moment,” says the Orange is the New Black actress.
“Most parents don’t believe in mental health and they consider therapy a luxury,” Guerrero said. “But it’s really important to address it, our immigrant families need it the most right now.” Unfortunately, in the Latino immigrant community, people struggle with having to pay for basic healthcare, most of which doesn’t cover therapy.
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She encourages the undocumented and children of undocumented immigrants in the audience to continue to “work hard to regain that voice taken from us.” Fortunately, Chicago is a sanctuary city, which is a city that limits its cooperation with the national government to enforce immigration law, but who knows how long it will remain that way.
Guerrero says it’s very important to love oneself in order to move forward and continue to help others. “I know my family loves me, but the hardest part is to love myself,” she said. During the talk, she announced that she will be meeting with actresses Gina Rodriguez and America Ferrera in the following weeks to develop a plan to empower their Latino community on and behind the screen.