In November, Diane Guerrero publicly opened up about her parents and brother being deported when she was a child. In a recent interview with El Espectador, the "Orange is the New Black" actress continued to discuss her family and immigration.

Guerrero admitted she felt compelled to tell her story so she could stop feeling "suffocated."

"When they asked me about my life I used to feel suffocated, as though I couldn't speak," she said. "So I thought what better way to leave behind that fear, that embarrassment than with an editorial letter that would make a difference."

Guerrero first discussed the deportation, which happened when she was 14 years old, in an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times.

"Grisel [Ruiz] told me to write a draft and that she'd help me publish it," Guerrero told El Espectador. "I thought, why not? I can't live a lie. This is my opinion, without fear. Plus it was a real story, my story. I am just telling my experience and asking what we can do to fix this problem of separating families."

Because Guerrero did not have her parents for a part of her childhood, she explained she could have easily fallen down the wrong path. It was the responsibility she felt toward her parents' sacrifices, however, that "scared" her.

The actress also explained why she didn't go to Colombia to live with her parents.

"I don't know," she said. "In that time, I didn't see my life here. My parents gave me the option, but I was conscious of the situation: there was no money, they lost everything. I felt I didn't have the tools to survive in Colombia. If you wanted to study in English, you needed some kind of resources, while my school in Boston was free."

Guerrero can't imagine what would have happened if she went to Colombia, but she knew she had to stay in the United States fighting. She wants her family to have a second chance in America.

As a child, Guerrero visited her parents in Colombia. The first time, she was excited to meet her entire family, some of which she had never met.

Immigration is a hotly debated topic in the United States, and even those who are immigrants are sometimes against other immigrants.

"Yes, of course, it's very hurtful to see that," Guerrero said about being attacked for her stance on immigration. "There are some people who say, 'My story is different than theirs, and that's why I deserve citizenship and her parents don't.' But really, I think there are more people who want to see this problem solved. ... Those who criticize me or my parents don't matter to me."

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