Episode 3 | Nabil Torres-Smilie

Hindsight's 2020

Mar 16 2021 • 1 hr 1 min

4:04 My parents told me right then and there “You cannot talk to the police. You cannot get in trouble”.

4:24 I was afraid to do any kind of mistakes because I immediately equated that with possibly going back to place that I didn’t know anybody or anything about.

4:45 I think that made me work very, very hard bc I knew I needed to be excellent to do anything.

4:57 I had to walk a very fine line and that there was no room for mistakes.

5:16 There’s just a lot of fear and uncertainty that comes with being an undocumented person.

12:29 No one would’ve ever predicted the wave that Donald Trump would’ve created as President. I don’t think we could’ve predicted immigrant kids being put in cages. I don’t think we could’ve predicted the storm on the capitol…but I knew that he was going to end DACA.

27:23 Danny, he’s so funny man. He’s like “Take it in Nabil. We are walking back to the United States. We’re crossing the Rio Grande. Really soak it in.” I was like “Hell no! Let’s run! I wanna leave! I wanna go back to the United States!” I’m like “Get your things, we’re speed walking over the Rio Grande. I don’t wanna take in the majestic scenery. I wanna get outta here!”

44:08 The thing I learned about activism — is that it never stops.

44:38 Even DACA is not a pathway to citizenship. So you have to understand that this is a marathon, not a sprint.

50:10 At first I was like, where have you all been? Donald Trump has been the President. This has been happening.

50:38 You guys are in for quite a journey my friends, be careful, don’t loose yourself. Because it’s sad and it’s very heavy. But it’s definitely worth investing your time in trying to understand how other people in the United States experience their daily lives. And you’ll be shocked that it’s not anything near what you experienced.