Beyond the polarized immigration debate exist thousands of immigrant youth challenged in a society reluctant to accept them. These are some of their stories from the heart of North Carolina.
The NC Dream Team
The NC Dream Team is a group of undocumented youth and allies fighting for the rights of the undocumented immigrant community in North Carolina. Meet the team in this ethnographic documentary that examines the social stigmas and civil and human rights struggles faced by undocumented immigrants in North Carolina. In this video, Viridiana Martinez discusses the moment when she first realized she was “undocumented.” Ally Justin Valas explains why photography is important to the movement. And the rest of the group march in Greensboro, N.C. This project was originally produced for a visual anthropology seminar at UNC-Chapel Hill; Archival footage is credited to CNN and Fox, and was used for educational purposes.
Activists at Work
The first act of civil disobedience by undocumented youth in the state of North Carolina took place in Charlotte in September 2012 and was led by the NC Dream Team. However this was not the first action undertook by the group. The Dream Team started when three founding members went on a 13-day hunger strike, camping outside Sen. Kay Hagan’s office in downtown Raleigh to pressure her to vote in favor of the DREAM Act. (Hagan ultimately voted against the bill in 2010). The group has grown in numbers and influence since the 2010 hunger strike, organizing Know Your Right’s trainings, demonstrations, and more acts of civil disobedience. Below are documentations of some of these events.
#Raleigh3 Civil Disobedience
On February 29, 2012, three undocumented NC Dream Team activists were arrested after they interrupted a meeting for the North Carolina General Assembly special committee on immigration. Cynthia Martinez, Estephania Mijangos and Uriel El-Maya Alberto declared their undocumented status and attacked the committee for sponsoring anti-immigrant legislation. Shouts of “arrest them all” and “go home” were heard from members of an anti-immigrant lobbyists as police escorted the demonstrators out of the chamber.
#Raleigh3 arraigned and released from jail
Cynthia and Estephania were released a day after the action, however Uriel was placed in deportation proceedings after police discovered he had a prior misdemeanor criminal record. (Originally posted on the undocumentary blog).
Spoken Word for the #Raleigh3
“Where is the towel of justice that will help me dry my back?” – Jaime Perez a.k.a. Little James
Inspired by the demonstration at the General Assembly, Jaime Perez of the Carrboro/Chapel Hill-based Immigrant Youth Forum performed spoken word poetry to raise awareness about his friends’ incarceration.