Illustration by Mother Jones; Alex Wong/Getty

In 2016, Andrés García fled anti-LGBQT+ violence in his native El Salvador. Until a few years ago, he lived without papers in Virginia. Then he was reported by police for a minor infraction and transferred to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He spent a year in ICE detention. In July 2023, García was successful in his asylum application. Now he fears that the outcome of the US presidential election could leave him vulnerable to deportation and the danger of returning to his country.

I ran away from my country because I was running away. I’m gay and in my country it’s quite difficult to be yourself. You can be incarcerated. You can be killed. We don’t have legislation to be able to say, “You know what, I’m going to be what I want and the law is going to protect me.” » You don’t have as much freedom as here.

So I came here eight years ago in search of security and a better life for me and my family. I have lived in Virginia since arriving in the United States and with my sister for a few years. I went to school to learn English. I’m the type of person who always tries to contribute and improve every day.

Everything was fine. But then, two or three years ago, I was arrested by ICE. I was in detention for over a year and was released in 2023. It made me feel differently because I saw the injustice of the system. In Virginia, you do not have the right to legal representation if you are an immigrant in court. You don’t have anyone to tell you what you can ask for or what your rights are. Not knowing the law, not knowing the language, not knowing anything.

I thought I was going back to my country. I thought I was expelled. But one day I said to myself, you know what? I’m just going to fight. And I saw this poster on the phones. This was the CAIR Coalition (today Amica Center for Immigrant Rights). I called them hoping they would take my case. A few weeks later they told me they had good news and that they had accepted my case. They helped me throughout the process. They not only provided me with legal representation, but also helped me establish communication with my family back home. They almost saved my life.

In the past, I was afraid. I was afraid to make my voice heard because of my (lack of) papers. When we got our asylum application, I thought, “I have to give something back to the community. »

I attended rallies. (My boyfriend and I) went knocking on doors last weekend. Now I am going back to school on November 16th. I’ve always been passionate about interior design and that’s what I want to do.

I’m in a safer place now, but I’m still in the immigration system. I will never get out of the system until I become a citizen. What if Trump’s policies became reality and they deported everyone with a criminal record? If I am deported, my country will be in a state of emergency and you will have no civil rights. The army is on the streets and they can just arrest you and put you in prison for no reason. If you have tattoosthey put you in jail for a year just to be investigated. Prisons are full of gang members and have zero tolerance towards people from the LGBTQ+ community. If I am deported back to my country, that will be the end of me. It scares me a lot just thinking about it.

I’m nervous because it’s not just about me. I have friends, I have family, I have neighbors who are not legitimately here. I have so many gay friends who are undocumented. They don’t even have a criminal record and can be deported at any time. It affects everyone.

I heard that (Trump) is also considering passing this law so that companies will be forced to hire only people with (legal) papers. I would say 80 percent of my friends are hard-working, loving people who have no criminal records. Everyone in my community is afraid.

It’s frustrating because most people, myself included, can’t vote. The people who are actually going to suffer can’t vote, so we’re in everyone else’s hands.

Let’s hope (Trump’s victory) doesn’t happen. But we have to be ready for anything, right? I don’t even want to say it because it breaks my heart to know that it’s a possibility. I don’t think America can afford four more years of the Trump era.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.