First He Came Out as Undocumented. Then As Gay. Here's What It Means For Immigration Debate.

[marmar]

from YES! Magazine:


First He Came Out as Undocumented. Then As Gay. Here's What It Means For Immigration Debate.
Felipe Matos told his story in three words: "I am undocumented." It was an act of desperation—but it gave him a sense of agency and power.

by Kristin Moe
posted Jun 20, 2014


On that October day in 2008, Felipe Matos (now Sousa-Rodriguez) didn't plan to come out to the world. What he wanted was to help a friend, Gaby, whose undocumented family faced deportation. So Sousa-Rodriguez joined an immigration rally outside the Homeland Security office in Miami, with law enforcement watching. He had a near-perfect academic record in college, was president of the student government, and was the first person in his Brazilian family to become fluent in English. He had a lot to lose. But when someone handed him the bullhorn, there was only one thing he could think of to do.

"I am undocumented," he said. "Come and get me."

Sousa-Rodriguez broke the rules and rewrote his own script, at great risk. His action forecast a major change in immigration movement strategy: undocumented youth using their own stories as political tools.

Thousands of "Dreamers"—as these immigration activists are called—have since followed in Sousa-Rodriguez' footsteps, giving rise to a national shift in which undocumented people have begun to control the terms of the debate. For them, storytelling is a tactic, an act of civil disobedience. In the last few years they've organized national "Coming Out Days," testified before Congress, and posted videos of their stories on social media. In 2010, Sousa-Rodriguez and three other young activists—including Gaby—walked 1,500 miles between Miami and Washington, D.C., in support of the Dream Act, wearing shirts that read, "Undocumented? Everyone has a story ... but not all are heard." ...............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/the-power-of-story/first-he-came-out-undocumented-gay-lgbt-dreamers-immigration