Lorena

Lorena is primarily focused on the economy, saying rising prices and scarce work are hurting families. She supports enforcement and believes people who break the law should face consequences, but feels current raids are too broad and unfairly target people who aren’t criminals—acknowledging she herself feels exposed because of how she looks. She opposed Biden’s approach on immigration and gender issues, seeing it as out of step with her values, and voted for Trump believing he would strengthen the economy and restore order, despite past concerns about racism. Still, she says she could return to Democrats if they put forward a leader with stronger values and clearer priorities for working families.

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Our initial interviews were conducted in participant’s homes, and lasted approximately 3 hours. The follow up interviews were conducted remotely via Zoom, and lasted around 30 minutes. The following are shortened clips from these interviews.

Unlike in her first interview, Lorena described a climate of fear in her community, with police and ICE activity creating panic even during ordinary moments. She expressed opposition to workplace raids and worried that even naturalized citizens could lose protections. Though she once viewed Trump as the best option, the deportations and enforcement actions left her feeling betrayed. Even more disillusioned with politics overall, she was deeply distrustful of leaders’ intentions and hesitant about voting in the future, while remaining deeply anxious about her children’s future.

Lorena expressed that deportations had become even more visible and chaotic, affecting people she knows and spreading fear across worksites. While she maintained support for law enforcement and believes that some “clean-up” is necessary, she felt that enforcement is going too far and that there is still a need for faster legal pathways for law-abiding immigrants. She also touched on rising prices again – still a major concern. And Lorena was still critical of the discourse around LGBTQ issues and critical of what she sees as political theatrics. Overall, she sensed the country becoming more extreme and unstable.

Lorena expresses frustration and concern about recent political decisions, especially cuts to social benefits like EBT and healthcare. She worries these actions are hurting vulnerable groups, including people with disabilities and low-income families, while questioning why the United States prioritizes foreign involvement over supporting its own residents. Although she acknowledges she doesn’t fully understand politics, she feels these decisions are making life harder economically and medically for ordinary people.

Lorena brought up the newly elected NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani, her thoughts on Democratic Socialists and their policies – which she considers to be helpful for society as a whole – and the success of Democrats in the 2025 elections. She also discussed her frustrations at the ongoing government shutdown and the importance of preserving a social safety net, and Trump’s job performance so far, which she found to be corrupt.

Lorena describes her worsening feelings about the state of the world and the economy, and how she has adapted to rising costs. She also talks about the immigration raids happening in her community, which she describes as escalating; the bombing of Venezuelan boats by the Trump Administration, something she disagrees with and doubts is actually targeting drug dealers; and the end of ACA subsidies, which she disagrees with. Lastly, she expresses her feelings about the 2026 elections and discusses her hesitancy to vote.