How one undocumented immigrant incorporates activism and support through clothing

The scent of brewer’s yeast wafted in the air as customers waited in line for freshly stamped white T-shirts that read in bold red letters: “May I be Latino in every lifetime.”

Just a week before a planned event by Barrio Drive at a Los Angeles brewpub, three immigrants were killed in incidents related to Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions in several states. 

Atziri “Jacks” Peña, the owner of the clothing brand, walked throughout the building welcoming about a dozen people, many sipping on matcha and cold brews. Their Barrio Drive clothing company partners with local businesses to host screen-printing events that raise funds for the city’s immigrant community

Peña felt it was important to create a safe space for people with undocumented status like themselves and said immigrants are often reduced to just their status. 

“We don’t really get to hear and understand who they are as just people and not just what their work is,” Peña said. “And that’s really what shaped what Barrio Drive is today.”

Before the recent increase in immigration enforcement by the Trump administration, the 28-year-old business owner felt that there wasn’t enough positive attention focused on the undocumented immigrant and LGBTQ+ communities. 

Peña said immigrants living in the U.S. illegally often receive negative stereotypes or labels. Growing up, Peña said they also noticed similarities between being undocumented and part of the LGBTQ+ community. Their feelings of alienation and exclusion as a member of both communities has influenced how they manage their business.

“I look at the brand as one avenue where people who could be queer, who could be undocumented, get to celebrate themselves as one whole person,” Peña said. “It becomes something for people to feel a sense of safety.” 

With only $50, Peña and their sister Yajair created the company in 2017.

They now sell items such as stickers and apparel featuring phrases like “Chinga La Migra” and “Protect Immigrants” that are inspired by their backgrounds.

They use money they earn to help people. For example, Peña said street vendors often find themselves as targets of immigration enforcement since they work in public spaces.

At their first free screen-printing event, the two encouraged participants like Julio Umana to donate to help street vendors. After the event ended, they used the funds to buy all of a local ice cream vendor’s products. The strategy helps street vendors earn money for a day’s work and allows them to go home and stay clear of ICE enforcement.

“Being Hispanic myself, I believe that it’s important that we show up for our community, for our neighbors, and for our people,” Umana said.

Peña and their sister have also championed many other causes that impact immigrant families.

When the first Trump administration tried to eliminate the immigration policy that protected children under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, Peña, who is part of the program, had just started college.

“It’s always been a very insecure thing, you know, having DACA,” they said. “I found myself not knowing what was going to happen to me.” 

DACA provides temporary relief from deportation for undocumented children who arrived in the U.S. before the age of 16. The program also allows recipients the opportunity to work, obtain an education, and plan their lives.

Peña decided to create a DACA fund to help recipients renew their applications. The company created a special collection of t-shirts, stickers, and posters to support the fund. They have paid for over 100 applications. 

Peña said recipients are grateful. The application can be expensive, with online costs ranging from $495 to $555 and $605 to file on paper. So when Peña saw the opportunity to provide aid to their community, they took it.

They have also created apparel and items to support the LGBTQ+ community, including to support them during Trump’s efforts to limit resources for trans people like gender-affirming care. 

The small business released its own Pride collection, like “Amor Sagrado,” which included shirts and bandanas with drawings of same-sex couples kissing and embracing each other in old school Chicano-style artwork. For Peña, it was important to create clothing that embraced Latino members who are part of the LGBTQ+ community loudly and unapologetically due to their own experience as a queer Latino.

“Sometimes I believe Latino spaces don’t really include me because they see me as a queer brand due to how visible my identity is,” said Peña. “A lot of the times I do feel like I am not accepted in the spaces or even grouped with other Latino/Latina owned brands due to my queerness.”

Alexa Orenda, who has followed Barrio Drive on social media, went to her first event at the brewpub the week after the ICE incidents. She said she appreciates the clothing brand because it offers people an accessible way to engage in activism and express their identity. 

“It involves the community, it gets people talking, connecting, and it just shows through arts how dissatisfied and how angry we are at what’s happening right now,” she said while holding her freshly screen-printed shirt. “Seeing other people rep what you believe in shows solidarity, [and] it makes people feel more comfortable expressing themselves.” 

Peña said that’s the point of Barrio Drive.

“I like being able to see that somos de todos lugares,” they said. “I see people from all over the world, and it’s beautiful.” 

Lizbeth Solorzano recently obtained her Master’s from the University of Southern California and currently serves as an investigative intern for L.A. TACO. As a bilingual multimedia journalist, her interests include arts, culture, and community news. Feel free to reach her via Instagram @llizbeth.so