00:00
So we got our Queen Gabriela Bandi back on the show.
00:03
Welcome back. How you been?
00:08
She couldn't get enough of me.
00:09
we can't. We love having you on.
00:13
you know how have you been?
00:15
Good, good, you know,
00:17
the show work and and mental health.
00:20
How's your mental health been?
00:26
how's your we're getting in there.
00:27
I feel like everybody,
00:28
you know, everybody's kind of dealing with just everything that's going
00:32
on around the world is cry out there,
00:35
just trying to be positive and.
00:37
Yeah, it's, it's tough.
00:38
This year has been crazy.
00:40
There's so much going on.
00:41
We actually saw your TikTok about dealing with ICE growing up
00:46
As someone who has been detained by ICE when I was
00:50
a child, I was 11 years old,
00:53
Firsthand that they do not like us.
00:56
I sat down with my baby brother on my lap.
00:59
He was not even a year old,
01:01
and I heard ICE agents speaking about me and saying horrible things
01:08
about me. One of them yelled at me from afar.
01:12
And called me stupid.
01:14
Yeah, recently I made that video because of everything going on
01:17
and I just feel like there's a lot of misinformation.
01:21
So I wanted to kind of like give a little bit of
01:23
light to what it really is to someone that has actually lived
01:26
it. There's not really an easy way to say like we
01:30
have these conversations without it getting serious because it is like a
01:33
serious matter, but yeah,
01:34
I was 11 years old when I came and.
01:36
To me familia like we were detained by ICE at the border
01:40
like as soon as we had crossed it's an experience where as
01:44
you look up to like you know cops and at least for
01:49
I, I couldn't tell the difference between a cop or a
01:51
nice agent. I could be there the same thing and you
01:53
were so little like,
01:54
like you're probably like super confused as what's going on,
01:59
just getting kind of like.
02:01
Treatment for no reason like I think at that age I didn't
02:05
really understand why but now that I get older I understand that
02:08
it's like a way deeper problem that you know some people just
02:12
are misinformed and they grow up with this misconception about I I
02:17
don't wanna say all immigrants but I would say specifically Latinos we
02:21
get it a little bit the most which is a little bit
02:24
interesting. Because they're immigrants from all over the world the world
02:28
it's crazy. I feel like there's a disconnect,
02:31
right? So a lot of people think that they wanna deport
02:36
like the criminals, right?
02:38
But what we all need to understand is that when they're saying
02:41
criminals and I'm saying like the government,
02:43
they mean anyone who came here illegally,
02:45
they consider that as a crime so they consider you a criminal
02:49
whether you're a good standing citizen and you're paying your dues and
02:53
paying your taxes and going to work and doing all of that
02:55
They're still seeing you as a criminal because of the fact
02:58
that you either entered illegally or you stayed I think too many
03:03
people try to look at the at the laws as a black
03:07
or or white situation when you you kind of can't lack the
03:11
empathy when it comes to that because there's a reason why all
03:14
these people are coming here like these people are they're literally escaping
03:19
some of the worst conditions that anyone can can live through and
03:24
so when they're coming here.
03:25
And they're coming here with,
03:26
you know, all the energy to do right,
03:28
to get a better future,
03:29
to do this. Like people wanna dismiss that and say there's
03:33
a legal way, there's a right way like we're not exactly
03:37
and then these people don't have time.
03:39
It doesn't, there isn't really any legal way even the asylums
03:44
like you could come and seek asylum,
03:47
they completely shut that down right now.
03:50
At some point you have to ask yourself,
03:52
is it really. about coming here legally or is it really
03:56
about not wanting Latinos to be in the country?
04:00
Some people, they do think like,
04:02
no, they're just deporting the,
04:04
you know, rapists and murderers and all this,
04:06
but it's like no to them they're gonna deport that 5 year
04:10
old that came with his mom like that's a criminal to them
04:14
and it's really important that people understand that because then you can
04:18
have more people on.
04:19
I don't wanna say our side but almost like our side,
04:22
you know, and I try really,
04:25
really hard to not get upset about the situation and that when
04:28
I do have conversations with people.
04:30
I try to do it in a respectful way so that they
04:33
do hear me out because the goal at the end of the
04:34
day is for them to really understand where I'm coming from.
04:37
Were you aware of like your rights when interacting with ICE officers
04:42
or like you're just kind of like I no definitely not.
04:46
I think especially when you're in an immigration center you feel like
04:52
I mean you're literally being yelled at you're being told to go
04:54
over there you're they're in.
04:56
Intimidating you by their authority and like that power play.
05:00
So I feel like in that moment,
05:02
especially when you're a kid,
05:04
like what am I gonna do against,
05:06
you know, these individuals that are like have so much power
05:09
over me? Definitely I can't even imagine like how scared you
05:13
were and so how have these experiences that you've had played a
05:17
role in how you speak about what's going on?
05:19
Like I think my experience just allows me to.
05:24
share it with other people.
05:25
I think that has a lot of power.
05:27
A lot of the times when I'm seeing the rhetoric around immigrants
05:30
I feel like it's so unfair and the least that I
05:33
could do is share my experience with other people.
05:36
Why do you think it's important to share videos like the video
05:39
that you made on your platform?
05:40
What do you think it's important?
05:41
Why other people? Have to we have to talk about it
05:44
we have to be loud about it we have to keep informing
05:46
people sometimes and we live in our little bubble and we think
05:50
like well people know but no people do not know.
05:53
I promise you people do not know they're not educated not many
05:57
people take the time to really learn so if they're spending.
06:01
The hours scrolling on TikTok might as well be your video where
06:04
you're educating and sharing a story,
06:07
and I will also urge people because I especially influencers,
06:10
I know many of them,
06:12
they're scared to like say anything one because I know some brands
06:15
might not want to work with you and two because they're like
06:18
I don't know what to say.
06:19
I don't feel super educated to talk about the matter and you
06:22
really don't have to be like as long as you're just sharing
06:25
a story and speaking the way that you speak.
06:29
sometimes I think even just like for me like I'm not a
06:31
lawyer I can't sit here and tell you that I know every
06:33
law but I can tell you and and about my experience and
06:37
that alone is already like educating you to understand what it's like
06:42
for for an immigrant.
06:43
It's good that you spoke up but thank you so much
06:46
Gabriela we appreciate you having you on the show.
06:49
Let's give her another round of applause guys.
06:50
You guys are like my friends.
06:53
I love you. And then if you want to link
06:56
your your social handles or where people can follow you,
06:59
yeah, it's Gabrielaban everywhere and anywhere that's where I am.
Series