As immigration rallies continue across the country, one young voice in the Coastal Bend is standing out — not because of how loud he is, but because of how small he is.
Vinny is just five years old, yet he’s already become a familiar face at protests throughout the region. He’s too young to vote, and not even tall enough to see over his own protest sign — but that hasn’t stopped him from showing up and speaking out.
“I need to support my papi because he's in Mexico,” said Vinny, whose father was deported.
Vinny’s mother, who asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons, says her husband was taken by immigration authorities in March.
“Two ICE agents come out, pull him out of the car, and arrest him while he was on his way to work,” she said.
Since then, she says Vinny has begged to attend every rally he can.
“Whenever he sees people rallying, he gets so excited. He was out there. He made his little sign,” she said.
That sign — almost as big as he is — reads, “Por Mi Papi,” or “For My Dad.”
Vinny says he misses his father every day and has one simple wish.
“I need my papi to come to my birthday,” he said.
His mother describes Vinny’s dad as a loving, hardworking father and says the family has been struggling without him.
"It's going to be traumatizing to him. Every little boy and every little girl, they need both parents in their life. And I feel that it's very unfair that he's not being let the opportunity,” she said.
For now, Vinny says he’ll continue attending rallies, holding up his sign, and hoping that someday soon, he and his father will be together again.
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