Immigrant and refugee students took time to cast their first ballots as American citizens at Casa Azafran.
It was part of a civic engagement lesson with the Nashville International Center for Empowerment, also known as "NICE."
The higher level ESL students spent 6 weeks learning about government systems, policies, and the current election.
With this years campaign trail filled with anti-immigrant and anti-refugee rhetoric, the NICE coordinator said the votes meant so much to her students.
"And so for her, obviously her family is the most important thing. And so it wasn't just about her exercising her right as an American citizen but it was also about defending the values of her and her family and the community and cultures from which she comes," said Ashley Coleman.
The students are from all over the world including Mexico, Kuwait, Venezuela and Somalia.
