‘Abolish ICE’: Trans Queer Pueblo hosts its largest drag show in support of migrant rights

Hosting their 13th annual ‘Drag 4 a Dream’ show at the Karamba Club in Phoenix, local non-profit organization Trans Queer Pueblo (TQ Pueblo) put purpose in their long-awaited drag performance that serves both as a community care and fundraising event. In their persistent fight against the challenges LGBTQ+ Latine and immigrant individuals face in the current political climate, Trans Queer Pueblo remains committed to building “transformative justice” in Phoenix through their projects. 

Whether that be fighting for the liberation of individuals being held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers, distributing mutual aid to community members in need and advocating for health justice, which funds their liberation clinic, TQ Pueblo has been known to embrace and promote acts of resistance — like putting on a drag show that promotes joy and resilience in the face of fear and uncertainty under yet another Trump reign.

“(With) Drag 4 a Dream we do fundraising so that immigrants and many people who do not have ways to obtain certain services… have the opportunity and access to services such as medical clinics, lawyers any need that they have,” Drag 4 A Dream’s first queen to hit the stage, Danny Licious, said, referring in large part to immigrants. “So, it’s very big that the whole community comes together and we do events like this to fundraise, that way we can keep providing those services for everyone.” 

The turnout at Karamba Club, a queer staple in the central Phoenix community, was exemplary, with all proceeds from ticket and merchandise sales going toward TQ Pueblo’s projects. “Somos el linaje de resistencia”, or “We are the lineage of resistance,” was the slogan for the evening as each drag performer took to the dance floor alongside community members who were encouraged to wear their best “F**k ICE” outfits. 

With the recent surge in ICE and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) targeted raids, which have resulted in over 56,000 detainments of migrants, according to the NBC tracker, there has been an equal amount of uprising in response to the unprecedented number of arrests taking place in Arizona and in other states.

“We've been doing this work for a long time. We've always had the correct messaging, the correct work. I think other orgs used to see us as radical, and now they see us as right. So it's a change where… they were fighting for reform, we were fighting for abolition and now here we are. We told y'all reform wasn't gonna work. It's our legacy that we never backed down…We literally have this legacy of resistance,” one of the many performers of the night, drag king Christian Caliente, said. “This is our biggest fundraiser of the year. We just want to make it fun, almost — I wouldn't say ironic, but I mean, the theme is bring your best ‘F**k ICE’ costume. You know, it feels good to have fun with a purpose.” 

Segments of Drag 4 a Dream included the audience showing off their best outfits that branded photos and phrases that included “Free Palestine” and “Chinga La Migra;” performances from local drag queens and kings that included Danny Licious, Christian Caliente and even a drag king performing as the iconic Mexican singer, Vicente Fernández; as well as acknowledgements from TQ Pueblo of their talented team and recognition of a fellow non-profit, Black Lives Matter Phoenix Metro, also in attendance.

Elsa Gebreyohanes, co-director of BLM Phoenix Metro, described the difficulties faced by the pro-abolition and Black liberation organization during its initial founding in 2017 and how their relationship with TQ Pueblo has been strong since then.

“We never stopped working with TQP… We got bigger and bigger, and instead of just being a small group of people trying to make change, we became a whole organization,” Gebreyohanes said. “We got to learn a lot from TQP — about how they set up their status, how they set up their structure — and that really helped us build our own structures so that we can formulate and become stable enough to make Black radical organizing sustainable in Phoenix.” 

After being kicked out of spaces where they hosted meetings due to their “unpopularity” for promoting defunding and abolition of the police state and encouraging policing alternatives, TQ Pueblo invited them to host their meeting at their Phoenix headquarters. 

“We're not free unless all of us are free, right?… Abolish ICE, abolish the police, because at the end of the day, all these systems are the same thing — the same entity of white supremacy that's targeting all of us to silence us into being obedient to our own demise, which we don't want to do. We want to live in a future where we're all liberated, and the only way we can do that is if we practice that liberation with each other.” 

For drag performers like Danny Licious, these events provide a purpose for their performances and an avenue to support their community.

“F**k ICE! I might be a citizen, but I come from a family of immigrants. I was raised by my grandparents, and they did everything they could to give me everything I needed to flourish in this world, and I don't think many people who are citizens represent their culture as they should,” Danny Licious said.

In the face of mass deportation and increased civil rights violations being committed in detention centers across the country — including the Eloy Detention Center where Arabella (Yari)  Rodriguez Marquez, a queer woman suffering from leukemia is being held without access to proper medical care — many individuals, documented and undocumented alike, are intimidated into hiding from the rampant policing that threatens them not only in public spaces like queer night clubs, but at immigration courts, outside of schools, at places of employment and even off the street. 

Despite it all, TQ Pueblo continues to raise funds for additional projects created to uplift the local trans and migrant community.

“The fear is real. I get it… What this fascist state wants is for us to hide, and so when people like me, you know, in full drag come out, and we're like, ‘let's see what happens,’ it actually makes it safer for someone, anyone in general,” Christian Caliente said. “The trans community has always put their face forward, been the loudest to make people feel safe.”

Analisa Valdez (she/her) is a freelance journalist based in Phoenix. Her reporting includes community & culture, social justice, arts, business, and politics.