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Tag Archive: undocumented youth

I am a Survivor…Now it is time to Stand for Yanelli!!!

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January 30, 2012

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I am undocumented, unafraid & survived depression and suicide.I came to this country at the age of 5. Every day and night I saw how my parents struggled as undocumented immigrants ; I saw how they were exploited and at points dehumanized not only at their place of work but in a country they considered home. I grew up learning and experiencing that I was not welcomed here. In media , in books , in laws I was consider an “illegal alien”, my humanity was constantly challenged. I was always dealing with depression but after graduating from High School I became suicidal; I went to sleep crying and began to cut myself. I am very thankful for the community that has shown me support. Resources for undocumented youth in forms of mental health, therapy, access to clinics and counseling are limited. When Joaquin Luna, an 18 year old Dreamer from Texas, who thought he too had no future took his own life their was an outcry from everyone and the question remained “How could we have helped? How could we have prevented it?” Yanelli is also suffering. Here we have a case where YOU can HELP and PREVENT!! You have the choice to help someone like me.PLEASE TAKE ACTION & make a call, sign the petition, spread this amongst friends so that Yanelli can recuperate. We have until Tuesday to stop this deportation and possibly save Yanelli’s life. So the question remains: Are you with us? Please Take Action!!! 

Suicidal and Undocumented

Family bonds cut with sharp window glass
Household drenched in his red liquid despair
I could not understand why he would do that to himself
I made him cards shaped in hearts
Read to him my poems
Maybe I could remind him of his value
“ Daddy you are beautiful”

I could see his pain in his eyes
He water marked my pages with his tears
Exploitation
Being called “illegal”
Suffering
Depression
Daddy was not the same anymore

Hieroglyphics appeared on my wrist
Household drenched in my red liquid despair
I overflowed my journal pages with tears
There was no bed time stories

Instead of counting sheep, I counted scars
My white sheets covered in red
I wondered if this was as close I could get to an American flag
Family bonds cut with sharp window glass
Household drenched in his and mine red liquid despair
I now understand why he would do that to himself.

Crossing into what was suppose to be freedom
Razors kept crossing my wrist into what was suppose to be death
Broken windows into undocumented pain
Childhood was lost , my humanity challenged
I tried to color but everything was coming out in black and white

Exploitation.
Being called “illegal”
Suffering
Depression.
Deportation.
I was not the same anymore

Family bonds cut with sharp window glass
Household drenched in red liquid despair
Our surroundings tells us that we were not meant to survive
Lack of resources.
Denied access.
No health care.
No status.

Our community tells us that we are People
Recuperation.
Calling myself “undocumented”!
Empowerment.
Unafraid.
I was not the same anymore.

But…It continues.

On undocumented wrists

No numbers but scars

Hoping razors stop crossing back on forth!
Family bonds cut with sharp window glass
Household drenched in red liquid despair
Community drenched in red liquid despair

-Sonia Guinansaca

*Poem discussed my growing up in a household where depression and being suicidal was common. It eludes to my personal experience and show urgency in matters of depression, suicide, and mental health for undocumented community specially as the numbers of undocumented youth and suicide rises.

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NY Dream Act Week of Action ~ Feb 13-17

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January 25, 2012

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Every year thousands of undocumented youth graduate from New York high schools and face an uncertain future because of their immigration status. For years the federal government has failed our communities by refusing to pass the Read the rest of this entry »

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Flying While Undocumented

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October 22, 2011

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Angy,
I am from Pennsylvania and I really want to fly out to California soon but I am undocumented. Is it okay for me to fly? What is the process or what should I do?
Thanks,
Namin

Hi Namin,
Thank you for the email. Flying while undocumented can be done, I know lots of people who do it. I haven’t boarded a plane since I came to this country; it’s still on my list of things to do. Namin, I hope this helped a little bit. Consider reading this article it was useful too. However, I do know that before and during your journey there are some things you need to be aware of.

  • Make a thorough search of which airport you’ll be flying out of and where you will be landing. Fly in and out of local airports. International airports are riskier.
  • Also, search detention centers in the area where you will be traveling too.
  • Make a copy of all your IDs, passport etc and leave that with someone. In case you are detained or something goes wrong, they need access to those documents.
  • Fill out a contact sheet and leave that along with your document copies. The sheet should include your address and an emergency contact.
  • Take any emails and phone numbers that may be useful with you like family, friends, lawyer etc.
  • Have family, an attorney or undocumented youth friendly organization aware of where you are going (addresses and all) so they’ll be on stand-by in case something goes wrong.
  • If you have a state ID, consulate ID and/or passport, make sure those are not expired. You don’t really need to show them, just have your boarding pass ready to be checked. If they do ask to see an ID, have your passport open to where it needs to be seen.
  • As much as we hate to admit it, people do get profiled in the airport depending on how they look. Don’t over dress or under dress. Dress comfortably, like you fly all the time; you’ll be taking items off anyway.
  • Once you have passed checkpoints leave the airport, don’t mingle.
  • Call whoever your contacts were to let them know you are safe. They were probably worried!

Email or fill out this form with any questions, concerns, comments or just your own story. This is a space to let it all out! You don’t have to bottle it up inside. Whatever you write is up to you and you will not be judged. Your stories and worries matter! You are not alone. Remember, the insecurities and fears you have, someone else is them having too. Don’t be afraid to speak out.

If you are a fan of the Ask Angy posts..

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New York Undocumented Youth Seeks to END Deportations

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October 5, 2011

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If you are reading this you may have stumble upon our website trying to find a solution to your deportation proceeding. You may have been told by friends, colleagues or family to contact us. There could be many reasons but the most important one is that you are here.

The New York State Youth Leadership Council has officially joined the national campaign, Education Not Deportation (END), that seeks to put an end to the deportations of undocumented young immigrants.  As an organization we saw that our communities were being broken apart by deportations and horrendous immigration laws. We saw the need to be a resource and a support for undocumented youth that were facing deportation because we understand the process of being told by lawyers and “experts” that our cases are over, that there is no hope, and we should pack up our things and leave the country. What these people fail to see is that if such thing happens we are leaving behind family, friends, school, dreams and we are torn apart from our communities. We joined the national Education Not Deportation campaign with one thing in mind: to be of assistance to you and your family in stopping your deportation case. Our ultimate goal is to empower undocumented youth and provide them with the knowledge and tools to protect our communities. Because we are New York, and New York wants to END deportations!

Thus far the NYSYLC will be able to take on cases of undocumented youth who are DREAM-eligible, i.e. under the age of 35, and current New York State residents. We, the NYSYLC, have been able to help three New York undocumented youth who were facing deportation proceedings: Julio Hernandez, Max Medina, Nadia Habib and hope to help more. The campaigns that we launched for each individual person consist of petitions, providing a legal support through our team of pro-bono lawyers, getting support from legislatures, and profiling your case in the media.

One thing we also stress is that you don’t deserve to be treated as just paper work; we see you as a human being. We are there for you as a support system and we are there for your family because deportation impacts everyone. Working on Nadia Habib’s case, I not only dealt with Nadia but was dealing with her siblings, mother, father and her best friends. To this day I still get texts from Nadia as she updates me about her day at school, and same goes for Julio and Max. Each case we take on has become a part of the NYSYLC family.

The New York State Youth Leadership Council is a volunteer led organization. We do not get paid for what we do. We offer you our work and our resources via the END campaign if you are in deportation procedure. We offer you trust, hope, and support in this hard time. Thank you visiting our END campaign link and when you are ready and in need of our assistance please fill in this intake form. You can also access other resources found on this page such as : testimonies from the youth we helped, Fact sheets, videos and past articles.
For more information email : sonia@nysylc.org

In solidarity,

Sonia Guinansaca

 

Press Release – END launch

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