UFW president Teresa Romero: “I chose to be part of this country.”
United Farm Workers of America President Teresa Romero, an immigrant and naturalized citizen, received the Outstanding American by Choice award during a naturalization ceremony at the National Chávez Center Monday morning in observance of César Chávez Day.
“This is an honor that I never expected. It is true that I chose to be a U.S. citizen. I chose to be part of this country. And that’s all the things that we need to do is to become citizens so we can vote, so we can make a difference in our country. I am just beyond words,” said Romero, the granddaughter of a Zapotecan woman whose indigenous roots trace back before the Spanish conquest in México.
She came from México to the United States in the earlies 1980s as a young adult in her early twenties seeking to make a better life for herself like millions of immigrants before her not knowing or speaking English.
She appreciates what it is like to come to a new county, to be exposed to a new language, to have no friends or family and to meet new people. And because of her migrant background she can truly and uniquely relate to farm workforce that is now overwhelmingly immigrant, largely undocumented and heavily made up of women, Romero said.
The Outstanding Americans by Choice recognition is bestowed upon naturalized citizens who have made significant contributions to their community and their adopted country through civic participation, professional achievement, and responsible citizenship.
Romero established a construction management consulting business and managed a law firm that assisted farmworkers and others with immigration and compensation claims.
On her father’s birthday, July 3, 2001, Romero became a U.S. citizen taking oath at a naturalization ceremony in Pomona.
“Since then, I just, I’m loving it. I’m loving everything, especially since I started with the union. I’m loving everything that I’m doing,” Romero said.
Seven years after Romero naturalized, she took a job as assistant to the UFW president in 2008, eventually becoming the third president to lead the organization.
Romero, the first immigrant woman to lead a national union, became UFW president in 2018.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Ur M. Jaddou, who administered the Oath of Allegiance to the new 31 citizens, presented Romero with the award at Villa La Paz in Keene.
Romero, 63, said she is proud of her Zapotec heritage as well as her Mexican and U.S. citizenships.
“And now this award means the world to me,” said Romero, who was born in México City and raised in Guadalajara, Jalisco.
While her father was from México City, her mother was born in Chiapas. Romero’s grandmother, who spoke Zapotec, was a big influence on her.
“She’s very strong woman. She would tell me as I was growing up, ‘don’t let anybody tell you. You cannot do it. You can do it. You’re smart enough. You can do it,’” Romero said.
First Lady Dr. Jill Biden said she was “excited to honor a woman who has taken up (César Chávez’s) legacy, Teresa Romero.”
It is the second year in a row that the First Lady visited a farmworker movement historical property on or around Chávez’s birthday.
“Teresa, with your leadership, the United Farm Workers continues to be a voice of justice and humanity for the hard-working people who keep food on our tables.,” Biden said. “You make our nation stronger every day.”
“And you remind us of César’s words: ‘God did not promise us that the world would be humane and just. He gives us the gift of life and allows us to choose the way we will use our limited time on earth.’”
As an immigrant, Romero consider herself, “one of the lucky ones.”
“People don’t understand really the struggles that people have to go through when they come from Central América, and they have to come across two or three countries to get here,” said Romero. “To me, that is something that I could not ever imagine. And the fact that the people do it, it tells you that the need that exists to help other countries and that the desire that they want to be in the best country in the world.”
While her father died on the day the UFW board nominated her as president of the UFW to succeed Arturo Rodríguez upon his retirement, Romero recalls her last moments with her father as she was able to share with him her nomination even though he was not responsive.
“All of a sudden he looks at me and says, ‘How come you’re going to be the president of the United States?’ So, I thought, oh, Dad, you heard what you wanted to hear. But that stayed in my heart,” said Romero of her parents being proud of her. “And I think they would be very proud. They would be unbelievably proud (of the Outstanding Americans by Choice award.)”
Romero said she wants people, especially young women, to understand that everything is possible and that the sky is the limit.
“I think I want to be, if I’m an inspiration for one person, I will be lucky. Because I think anybody can do it. Work hard, believe in yourself, have the conviction of what you want to do, is the best advice that I can give people,” Romero said.
Esta historia fue publicada originalmente el 30 de marzo de 2022, 10:28 a. m..
