Gay and Undocumented: Some, Like Dagoberto Bailón, Must Come Out Twice

Phoenix New Times ^ | Thursday, Feb 20 2014 | Dulce Paloma Baltazar Pedraza

[nickcarraway]

Dusk is falling quickly as Dagoberto Bailón steps forward and stands in the middle of a circle of people gathered outside the state Capitol on a Friday last October. He asks those around him if anyone would like to go first. It's National Coming Out Day, and Bailón assures them this is a safe space.

He looks around and sees that most people are staring everywhere but at him and some have even taken steps back. He shakes his head and mutters that he'll go first. After a deep breath and a quick look at the sky, he says, "My name is Dagoberto Bailón, and today I choose to come out of the closet as an undocumented man and a gay man."

For a second, the people around him stay silent, but loud clapping soon fills the space. Once it's gone, people step forward and start coming out, one by one. Bailón, meanwhile, looks at each of them proudly. It has been a successful event for Arizona's Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project.

For most people, coming out of the closet is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. For Bailón, it had to be done twice.

The first time happened in 2006 when voters passed Proposition 300, a measure that forbids students who cannot prove their lawful presence in the United States from getting financial aid or classification for in-state tuition. Bailón was a freshman at Phoenix College. The news effectively meant he had to leave college. Bailón immediately knew he wanted to join the fight for the education of undocumented students, but doing so meant publicly admitting his immigration status.

With almost no hesitation, Bailón became one of the hundreds of "DREAMers" who took to the streets and Internet to tell the world they were undocumented and unafraid.

The second time happened almost four

[oh8eleven]

Some, Like Dagoberto Bailón ...[by] Dulce Paloma Baltazar Pedraza
WTF ever happened to Tom, Bob, Steve, Jim, etc? This country is so f*cked.

[Carl LaFong]

It’s make-up-your-own-jokes-palooza.

[Eagles6]

You are obviously a White, heterosexist, Christian bigot with no compassion for illegal, sodomite parasites. Probably cling to your Bible and your guns. :-)