NAM: Posted May 28, 2010
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New America Media, News Report, ,
TUCSON, Ariz. —On May 17, five students got themselves arrested in an act of civil disobedience inside Sen. John McCain’s Tucson office. The students, four of them undocumented, were pushing for the passage of the DREAM Act that would allow hundreds of thousands of students without papers to access higher education. But Mohammad Abdollahi, one of the arrested students was putting himself at even greater risk. Adollahi, an Iranian immigrant, is not only undocumented, he is also gay. Deportation could be a death sentence, because in Iran, the punishment for homosexuality is the death penalty.
“The only difference between my case and the others, is that Iran is a much harsher climate than possibly Mexico in terms of sexual orientation,” said Abdollahi. “But the risk was pretty big for all of us.” As it turns out, three of the other students who participated in the protest, are also gay. “All of them are very comfortable saying that they’re queer, that’s part of the story,” said Lizbeth Mateo, 25, one of the arrested students, who is now back in Los Angeles, Calif. “Being queer (for them) adds to the struggle, it’s like coming out twice and having to face different obstacles,” she said.
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