Khmer

What is being an undocumented immigrant like for you?  

“My mom brought my siblings and me here after the civil war in Cambodia. I remember coming to the U.S. was really hard, I grew up around violence, and I saw how my family struggled... I lost my status after I got arrested after high school. The police were looking for an Asian male, and I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. It was a setup because I never robbed the person, but I was convicted and used as an example to prosecute Asian kids like me. Being undocumented means, you are in limbo all the time. You belong to no country. I can’t go anywhere.”

What does justice and safety look like to you?

“Justice means giving people a chance. Give people an opportunity to have freedom.”

The image is a painting of the Angkor Wat in a frame. The painting was a gift from the interviewee’s sister sent from Cambodia, and the interviewee made a frame for it.