We came to the U.S. and Miami to escape authoritarianism, not live in fear of it | Opinion

My family — my mother and my grandmother — lost everything in our home country of Nicaragua.

They lost their home, their security and the certainty that tomorrow would be better than today. In 1978, they fled a country where power was concentrated, dissent was punished and fear was used as a political weapon. Like so many Nicaraguan families, they did not leave because they wanted to — they left because staying meant surrendering their future and safety.

They rebuilt their lives in Miami with dreams, determination and a deep love for the United States.

This country gave them something Nicaragua could not: freedom, opportunity and the dignity that comes from knowing your voice matters. They worked hard, played by the rules and believed deeply in American democracy. I grew up watching them embrace this country not casually, but reverently — because they understood how fragile freedom really is.

That is why the division and authoritarian tactics we are living with over the last year under the Trump administration is so deeply troubling to me and requires so many of us, including me, to speak out more forcefully than ever. Not by finger pointing but using our personal stories to remind our friends, family and neighbors why our fears are rooted in reality.

When you come from a family that has lived through authoritarianism, you recognize the warning signs. You recognize the attacks on democratic institutions, the undermining of a free press, the normalization of political violence and the use of fear and scapegoating to divide people against one another. You know that democracy does not disappear overnight — it erodes slowly as people are encouraged to distrust elections, dehumanize their neighbors and believe that only one leader can “fix” everything.

My family did not come to America to trade one strongman for another.

Miami is a city built by people who escaped failed regimes — Cubans, Venezuelans, Colombians, Nicaraguans, Haitians and so many others. We know what happens when leaders put themselves above the law and loyalty above truth. We know that authoritarianism does not arrive waving a red flag; it arrives wrapped in nationalism, grievance and promises of strength.

Patriotism is not blind loyalty to a single person. Patriotism is loyalty to democratic values — the rule of law, free and fair elections and respect for institutions that protect our rights, even when those institutions are imperfect.

The Trump administration’s approach thrives on division. Immigrants are demonized. Political opponents are treated as enemies. Independent judges, journalists and civil servants are attacked for doing their jobs. These are not signs of strength. They are the tactics of leaders who fear accountability.

As the Miami-born son of immigrants who rebuilt their lives here, I reject the idea that America must be smaller, angrier or less democratic to be strong. America’s greatness has always come from its ability to include, to self-correct and to move closer — however imperfectly — to its ideals.

My mother and grandmother taught me that loving this country means defending it, especially when it is tested. It means speaking out when power is abused. It means refusing to normalize behavior that undermines democracy, no matter who is responsible.

We owe it to those who fled authoritarianism — and to those born here, like me, who have never had to—to protect the freedoms that make America exceptional. Democracy is not guaranteed. It survives only if people are willing to stand up for it.

My family rebuilt everything once, because America allowed them to. I will not stay silent while the values that made that possible are threatened by division, fear and authoritarian ambition.

We came here to escape that. Not to become it.

Christian Ulvert, a Nicaraguan American, graduated from Miami-Dade County public schools and now is CEO and founder of EDGE Communications, a public affairs and political consulting firm. Most recently, he worked on the campaign of Miami Mayor Eileen Higgins.