Unbeaten and with an upcoming fight less than two weeks away, Óscar Valdez has enough on his plate as it is. Despite being Mexican, Valdez has learned to avoid the Donald Trump conversation. However, a recent turn of events has made him more vocal about the situation than ever before.
Born in Mexico to an American citizen mother, Valdez is not affected by Trump’s announcement to end the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. But the Mexican boxer still got to witness the ugly side of this decision. His uncle got deported, and his grandfather could be next, but Valdez won’t let that happen.
Luis Fierro, Óscar’s grandfather, recently got pulled over by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents. The reason: a 15-year-old moving violation. Valdez spent a reported $5,000 on legal counsel to keep his grandfather in the country, although court dates are inevitable.
The first court appearance is following Valdez’s bout against a fellow undefeated boxer, Genesis Servania from the Philippines. Servania and Valdez will go toe-to-toe at the Tucson Convention Center, in a city Valdez knows very well. Luis Fierro plans on being there despite the big day he’ll have ahead of him.
This ESPN-televised main event on September 222nd is a huge moment in Valdez’s boxing career. Unfortunately, he has a lot to think about off the ring as well. With his uncle getting deported after a routine traffic stop, and his grandfather facing the same fate, he doesn’t know what lies ahead.
“It’s one thing to see these things, and another to feel it as it happens to your loved ones and so many who are close to you,” Valdez told the Los Angeles Times. “I just know if everyday people in this country could get to meet my grandpa, they’d say, ‘Wow, great guy, a family man, big-hearted, in love with my grandma.’
And to now think he might get deported over some tickets…it’s sad.”
Fierro is not a DREAMer himself, but his legal issue comes at a time when the future of 800,000 young undocumented immigrants is at stake. Óscar Valdez knows what Trump is doing is wrong, and hopes that the people feel the same way he does about the American president. He wants Congress to act quickly regarding immigration concerns.
The 26-year-old boxer has an entire career and life ahead of him, but it wouldn’t mean the same thing without family by his side. Valdez is one of a dozen celebrities from all walks of life to come forward and speak out about DACA. In six months, there won’t be any more time to take a stand, so the DREAMers thank people like Valdez for giving them a voice during a heartless moment.