The court document says that the state of New York
has found me to be abandoned by one, or both parents.
The court states that it is not in my best interest to
be removed from the United States, though they
will probably forget my name when my body is found
dead on a sidewalk, another Black fag shot down.
Thank you for the protection New York,
I’ll smile harder next time I see the NYPD
approaching me outside the subway station.
Alan Pelaez Lopez is an Afro-Indigenous writer, visual artist and activist from Oaxaca, Mexico. Having lived undocumented in the United States for almost seventeen years, writing has become a tool where Alan can contest notions of illegality, undocumentedness, and non-existence. You can read more of Alan’s work on their website, and at Everyday Feminism.
A Quiet Courage 