Immigrant Youth Heartbroken By Tragedy

Murders Are Grim Reminder That LGBTQ People In The U.S. Face Constant Violence

Houston, TX - June 12, 2016 - Last night, fifty people were murdered and fifty three injured in a horrific act of violence which has shocked the world.

At the United We Dream National Congress, where over a thousand immigrant youth gathered to plan strategy for the coming year and beyond, UWD local group leaders Dani Marrero Hi, with Aqui Estamos, a group of LGBTQ immigrant community youth in the Texas Rio Grande Valley and Roksana Mun, with Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM) in New York City, led hundreds in a reflection, chant and moment of silence in honor of those lost and to pledge their commitment to our shared struggle. Of the one thousand youth present at the event, nearly 200 identified as LGBTQ.

Dani Marrero Hi, United We Dream Digital Content Fellow and leader with Aqui Estamos RGV said, "For many of us, gay clubs are the only safe spaces that we know because the world in which we live is so hostile to living life as our true and authentic selves. So when our safe spaces are violated, it is especially shocking and tragic. Violence against LGBTQ people, against people of color, against womxn, against immigrants - whether it affects one of us or 100 of us -- is intended to push us into the dark but we refuse to go back. My heart feels heavy today but I know that I am surrounded by one thousand people who believe as I do, that our destinies are linked and that we won't stop until we all are free."

Roksana Mun, member of the National Leadership Committee of United We Dream and Director of Training & Strategy with Desis Rising Up and Moving, added, "I am not here to apologize for anything, I am here to say that this is more than a gun control issue, more than an issue about queer or Muslim people alone. It is disgusting that the same people who pass a dozen laws to ban queer people from certain spaces or from being protected from deportation are the same people who are now opportunistically using this tragedy to advance their agenda against Muslims. At United We Dream and in our communities, we fight alongside one another because our struggles are linked and our liberation is linked together."

United We Dream is the largest immigrant youth-led organization in the nation, a powerful nonpartisan network made up of 55 affiliate organizations in 26 states. UWD organizes and advocates for the dignity and fair treatment of immigrant youth and families, regardless of immigration status. We seek to address the inequities and obstacles faced by immigrant youth and believe that by empowering immigrant youth, we can advance the cause of the entire community—justice for all immigrants.

You can find more about UWD online at www.unitedwedream.org