Being undocumented is a status, not a personality trait

Yes, the immigration laws in the US are very clear as to what constitutes a “legal” or “illegal” alien (their terms not mine.) Yet, the problem is how many people chose to use the term illegal alien and its variations, as it is some kind of personality flaw, instead of an immigration status. According to Cairco.org there are over 11 million undocumented immigrants in the US. They are not different than anyone else. Mothers, daughters, fathers, lovers and dreamers- illegal aliens are people just like you and me.

¿The difference? In many cases they live in constant fear of being deported, have a harder time finding jobs and often times (regardless of their own talents) miss out on education and career advancement opportunities. There is not an inch of surprise to learn that many undocumented immigrants keep the information about their legal status to themselves. They’re told by their parents that disclosing it would put them in danger; they fear being judged and they face the reality of fingers being constantly pointed at them from all corners.

AJ+ collected the stories of “coming out as an undocumented immigrant” in this 4-minute video, where the protagonist express how they decided to break the barrier of fear and “embrace their own narrative” as their legal status is part of their reality, but doesn’t define them.