Lupita, Raquel, Katia, and Jorge (Thanksgiving Message to Our Supporters)

Building the power to recover from Covid with dignity and strength

Dear friend,

I greet each one of you and wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving in the company of your families. On Thanksgiving, we meet as family to give thanks for life and the many blessings it brings. We remind ourselves that even during a very difficult year with the Coronavirus, we have much to celebrate.

We celebrate and remember our loved ones stolen by Covid. Like Doña Lupita and her husband Jose Luis, members of LUPE who came to the U.S. without papers, made a life and family here, and eventually became U.S. Citizens with LUPE’s help. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary while hospitalized as COVID-19 patients.

Latina of color sits in drivers side seat of car smiling at the camera and wearing a jean jacket over a red LUPE shirt.

We celebrate those who are fighting hard for a world where life is sacred. Folks like LUPE canvasser Raquel Chavez, who lost her father and brother to Covid. As an immigrant, she knows that such a rich and powerful nation does not have to allow so many people to die. That’s why she helped LUPE make 87,000 calls to South Texas voters and mobilized for healthcare for all, regardless of financial or immigration status.

We celebrate the youth who know that our lives matter even when our institutions do not. Youth like LUPE member Katia Gonzalez, whose brother, Jorge, was killed by deputies who believed his life did not matter. She saw the Rio Grande Valley rise up to protest the murder of George Floyd and knew that the people who believe that Black Lives Matter would see that her brother’s life mattered, too.

These are the people and the stories that are building the power we need to recover from the pandemic with dignity and strength. A new presidential administration means new opportunities to win a future where all families can live and thrive. LUPE will work to assure that immigrant and low-income families can roll back the hate that has persecuted them for the past four years, and take aim at the structural inequalities that have plagued the border region for decades.

We offer thanks to each of you for your support, for your participation, and for moving forward despite the difficult situation. Let's continue taking care of each other and give thanks for health to continue working for improvements for our families and communities.

God bless you and thank you for being part of the LUPE family.

Juanita Valdez-Cox
Executive Director, La Unión del Pueblo Entero