Source: CarlosDCblog
By Paul Canning
At America's annual giant progressive bloggers conference Netroots Nation over last weekend, a pre-conference of LGBT bloggers was told that the voices of LGBT immigrants are missing from their reporting.
Towleroad reported that a panel of queer immigrant activists "offered poignant personal recounts of the struggle they or other undocumented immigrants face in the United States."
Panelists included Tania A. Unzueta (Immigrant Youth Justice League and Association of Latino Men for Action), Reyna Wences (Immigrant Youth Justice League), Juan Rodriguez (Students Working for Equal Rights), and Felipe Matos (Presente.org and Students Working for Equal Rights).
The undocumented migrant Carlos A. Quiroz ('Carlos in DC') posted the above video, of the panelists, and wrote that the event had inspired him to 'come out' as undocumented.
Why telling: I had thought about blogging about my immigration experience for a long time, but fear and timing didn’t allow. One of the things that finally inspired me to do it was the campaign organized by undocumented youth for the Dream Act bill [which would have provided a 'path to citizenship' for those brought to the US as children], which sadly was rejected by the U.S. Senate last year.
Why now: I’m doing this not only because I want to become a productive citizen for this country, but also because this will have a positive impact for many others who are undocumented like myself, and because Immigration Reform should not be put aside even and especially in elections times.
...I cannot live in fear and depression any longer; because I deserve a life of dignity and respect, because I want to face whatever is necessary in order to achieve justice, because I’m unafraid. We can do this.Here's video of the moment when he says this:
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