Xochi's Path to Citizenship
Donation protected
Two years ago shortly after I lost a very good job at Methodist Hospital, I lost my physical green card on the greenway in Minneapolis, after I took a spill on the ice. Since then, I’ve been forced to do countless hours of frustrating legal work to get an application going for a new green card. The replacement process has been long and arduous, and even after my efforts thus far, I am left in a crossroads. My biometrics are not enough, I need to get a new copy of my birth certificate, as it is now law that birth certificates that are older than 10 years are not valid.
I am unable to hold a stable hourly job because my permanent residency card acts as a work authorization card. Without it, no one will risk hiring me and face audit from the government that could make them lose their license. I can only work through contract work, and rarely make enough money to save. Without the card, I'm still a permanent resident, but that term is shaky in this political climate.
My personal story is not unrelated to the racism in our current and past governments. I am Salvadoran and the United States has perpetuated the myth that we are a danger and a threat. So therefore I face a greater risk of deportation for any little mistake.
Thus I am moving forward with acquiring the right lawyers. One in the United States and one in El Salvador. Most of the funds I need will be going to the lawyer in El Salvador, as $5,000 is the most inexpensive I've heard of a lawyer working cases across borders. All this to finally get me a birth certificate, since I do not have family who can acquire it for me in El Salvador. It will allow me to get me out of the standstill I am in with my residency card, get a passport, get a temporary work authorization stamp on it, and finally hold an hourly job that will get me out of this sinkhole. In turn this will finally help me start moving towards citizenship.
What am I doing til then?
Art. It can be a force for so much more than entertainment.
When this all happened I figured “why not take the stage as much as I can?” And I did. Within the past couple of years I have tried comedy, movement, performance art, theater, making music, and curating or hosting shows to build and strengthen connections in community for myself and others. I have learned how important community is when I first fell into this pit.
I had never done much of anything with performance until I was in my lowest place ever. I never thought I could. This society and industry makes us believe that you have to be a phenom or genius to do
anything. They feed us scarcity mentality to position us against each
other, so that capitalism will feed on us. As a result, my immigrant
parents never really believed that the arts could be a good thing for the family, so they didn't nurture that side of us. I do not blame them for this, I blame our dictators. That's why we must create art, because art is inherently political; especially if you are a black or brown person. And even more so if you are queer, and/or trans or non-binary.
That's why I think it's incredibly important to create and hopefully inspire others to do the same. Everyone is an artist and it just takes a little
bit of lifting each other up. The rest is doing it over and over.
I get the opportunities I do because I put myself out
there and work hard all the time. Art is my everyday job; I'm practically on call 24/7. Not only because I am in need of funds but I am riveted by artists in the Twin Cities. As a community member, I do free labor and
consulting on a weekly basis because I want everyone to flourish. We
all do better when we all do better.
I still struggle though. Sometimes I catch a break that will feed and
house me for a while, but a lot of the time I am relying on the kindness of the community to continue on while I wait for the relief that is being able to hold a steady job. It's very humbling, and I feel very ashamed a lot. I was not raised to ask for monetary help. I was raised to figure it out
regardless of what needs to be done, but my family isn't in a place to
help me. I don't know what else to do other than ask you all, my beloved community, for help.
I am unable to hold a stable hourly job because my permanent residency card acts as a work authorization card. Without it, no one will risk hiring me and face audit from the government that could make them lose their license. I can only work through contract work, and rarely make enough money to save. Without the card, I'm still a permanent resident, but that term is shaky in this political climate.
My personal story is not unrelated to the racism in our current and past governments. I am Salvadoran and the United States has perpetuated the myth that we are a danger and a threat. So therefore I face a greater risk of deportation for any little mistake.
Thus I am moving forward with acquiring the right lawyers. One in the United States and one in El Salvador. Most of the funds I need will be going to the lawyer in El Salvador, as $5,000 is the most inexpensive I've heard of a lawyer working cases across borders. All this to finally get me a birth certificate, since I do not have family who can acquire it for me in El Salvador. It will allow me to get me out of the standstill I am in with my residency card, get a passport, get a temporary work authorization stamp on it, and finally hold an hourly job that will get me out of this sinkhole. In turn this will finally help me start moving towards citizenship.
What am I doing til then?
Art. It can be a force for so much more than entertainment.
When this all happened I figured “why not take the stage as much as I can?” And I did. Within the past couple of years I have tried comedy, movement, performance art, theater, making music, and curating or hosting shows to build and strengthen connections in community for myself and others. I have learned how important community is when I first fell into this pit.
I had never done much of anything with performance until I was in my lowest place ever. I never thought I could. This society and industry makes us believe that you have to be a phenom or genius to do
anything. They feed us scarcity mentality to position us against each
other, so that capitalism will feed on us. As a result, my immigrant
parents never really believed that the arts could be a good thing for the family, so they didn't nurture that side of us. I do not blame them for this, I blame our dictators. That's why we must create art, because art is inherently political; especially if you are a black or brown person. And even more so if you are queer, and/or trans or non-binary.
That's why I think it's incredibly important to create and hopefully inspire others to do the same. Everyone is an artist and it just takes a little
bit of lifting each other up. The rest is doing it over and over.
I get the opportunities I do because I put myself out
there and work hard all the time. Art is my everyday job; I'm practically on call 24/7. Not only because I am in need of funds but I am riveted by artists in the Twin Cities. As a community member, I do free labor and
consulting on a weekly basis because I want everyone to flourish. We
all do better when we all do better.
I still struggle though. Sometimes I catch a break that will feed and
house me for a while, but a lot of the time I am relying on the kindness of the community to continue on while I wait for the relief that is being able to hold a steady job. It's very humbling, and I feel very ashamed a lot. I was not raised to ask for monetary help. I was raised to figure it out
regardless of what needs to be done, but my family isn't in a place to
help me. I don't know what else to do other than ask you all, my beloved community, for help.
Organizer
Xochi de la Luna
Organizer
Minneapolis, MN
