Undocumented: Erick Huerta
Erick Huerta is an undocumented immigrant (now on Deferred Action) and Dream Team activist. His family came to Los Angeles some twenty years ago when he was seven years old, and while they were constantly moving around East L.A., Huerta has been drawn most to Boyle Heights and its vibrant artists and community. [1]
From the "Finding Your Story" Webinar, Erick shares the following insights:
"[In 2004] I just took it upon myself to google and search for undocumented folks online, but I couldn't find anything... so it lit this lightbulb in me to put my own experiences out there, like a message in a bottle. I'll write it, I'll put it on the Internet, and hopefully it will come back."
"If folks want to focus on facts or data, that's cool, but it's not going to move anybody... More than anything, storytelling is a human way to communicate."
"I've learned to taylor my story to where I'm at... [for example] I'll start sharing my story and relate it to something everyone can relate to like comic book heroes since people already have an understanding of those pop culture characters."
Check out his blog post "coming out" as undocumented using the narrative of Spider-Man: "Origins."
Erick is also a community reporter for Boyle Heights and a contributor to HuffPost LatinoVoices DREAMers Blog Series. Check out his pieces: "No Two Dreamers Are Alike" and "Love, Without Papers." He chronicles his personal experiences living "undocumented" in America in his blog, Just a Random Hero. Follow him on twitter @ElRandomHero.
Erick is also featured in LIMBO, a film exposing the lives of three undocumented students living in the U.S. by having them film their experience every day for three months. Directed by Eliot Rausch and produced in collaboration with Dreamers:
https://vimeo.com/35672609
Sources
Contributed by Raffi Sarkissian