Undocumented once, Professor now, Mexican-queer always

In 1987, at the age of 16, I left my family in Mexico and started my journey in the U.S. with a visitor’s visa that was to expire in one month. I was supposed to attend high school for three years, learn English, and go back home to become a bilingual secretary. At that time, however, California law allowed undocumented students to go to college and receive state funding. I finished my B.A. with highest honors from the University of California, Riverside in 1995. I became a U.S. legal resident in 1996 and finished my Doctorate’s degree in Literature from the University of California, San Diego in 2004. That same year, I joined the faculty as an assistant professor of Spanish, Mexican American literature, and LGBTQ studies at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX. In 2013, our campus was host to an official ceremony where I became a U.S. citizen and spoke to a crowd of 400 people who, like me, chose this country as their new, permanent home. Photograph credit, Russell Guerrero from Trinity University.