Throwback: Jesús, Los Angeles, CA

I still remember this day like it was yesterday. I never imagined myself publicly speaking about my undocumented status nor even speaking of being gay. 

It took me a while and some courage to speak out of the injustice every single undocumented individual faces on a daily basis, many of whom don’t speak up because of fear. I found my strength in my community, I know I’m not the only one that believes that the immigration system we have in place right now has been created to continue criminalizing undocumented folks, specially the LGBTQ community. 

I always try my best to bring up this issues to educated those around me that may be ignorant to our realities, to the daily struggles many families face, the separation of children and parents, abuelitas y abuelitos. I will continue to advocate for myself and for my community because we all deserved something better than the #DACA program, I recognize my privilege as a DACA recipient but I also recognize the expiration date my fate has. 

Jesus Arciga, He/Him/His
San Fernando, CA