Celebrating Trans Immigrant Leaders!
March 31, 2016
At United We Dream, we fight to create a world where everyone in our community can live as their full and authentic selves. In 2009, transgender activist Rachel Crandall created Transgender Day of visibility to celebrate and uplift the joyful experience of people living their authentic gender openly and fully.
There are tens of thousands of undocumented transgender adults living in the United States today who face social and structural barriers that limit their participation in our communities. In January, United We Dream released the groundbreaking #NoMoreClosets Report to document the experiences of LGBTQ immigrants across the country. What we know is that transgender immigrants face especially high levels of discrimination, harassment and violence.
For the immigrant youth movement, International Transgender Day of Visibility is an opportunity to celebrate the leadership of our transgender immigrant siblings and their fearless and resilient leadership!
“It is important to highlight the courage and resistance of undocumented trans* people. We are at the forefront of immigrant rights and LGBTQ rights, pushing both communities to honor our leadership and existence and driving positive change.”
Catalina Velasquez was born in Cali, Colombia and is currently living in Washington, D.C.
She is currently the director of Young People For (YP4) a progressive leadership development program of the People For the American Way Foundation.
Catalina was born in Cali Colombia, but Medellin Colombia was always home for her. At the age of 14, she, along with her parents and sister, left Colombia seeking asylum due to the country’s civil war. After graduating from high school and then attending Miami Dade Honors College, Catalina became one of the first undocumented students to be admitted to Georgetown University. Three months into her journey at Georgetown, her family was placed in a detention center and then deported back to Colombia after their asylum claim was denied. For Catalina, this was her moment of choice to stand up and fight back by dedicating herself to the immigrant rights movement so that she could one day be reunited with her family and so that other families would not have to suffer as she did.
“We are a growing trans community who must rely on each other for support. For those who are not part of the trans community, I urge you to see a world where love is unconditional and goes beyond the binary of man and woman. There are many genders and sexualities and it’s time that we all stand together.”
Bianey Garcia was born in Veracruz, Mexico and is currently living in New York City.
She is an organizer for Pryde Queens, an LGBTQ leadership program of Make The Road New York.
At the age of 14, Bianey began her journey of survival to the U.S. alone. Born in Veracruz, Mexico, her journey to the U.S. was marked by the challenges she faced due to her gender expression. Upon arriving to country, this experience was amplified when she was rejected by her host family because of her sexual orientation and gender identity. Finding employment and housing was her biggest struggle. These challenges inspired her to begin organizing with Make The Road and she has since become an inspiration to many other LGBTQ New Yorkers.
“We are not alone, together we can build the world we wish to live in.”
Ana Andrea Molina was born in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico and is currently living in Houston, Texas.
She is the Executive Director of the Organizacion Latina de Trans en Texas (OLTT).
At the age of 18, Ana began her transition, as she likes to call it, in the streets of Mexico. As she came closer to living her life authentically, Ana also faced increased violence, discrimination, and sexism. This pushed her to immigrate to the U.S at the age of 22. In the U.S., she encountered much of the same discrimination as she tried to live her daily life. The stigma forced her to work in the alternative economy, including sex work, that is often criminalized but was the basis for her survival.
In January 2015, while attending an event, she was escorted out of the building by security after she tried to use the bathroom that fit her gender identity. The gender policing she experienced ended up being a tipping point of her activism. Since then, has committed herself to building a movement in Texas that is lead by those who are directly impacted by discrimination and violence.
United We Dream celebrates these transgender leaders! Learn more about our efforts to advance LGBTQ justice here.
