Instagram Campaign Highlights Undocumented Teens in the U.S.

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By Zoe Fox2013-08-16 21:25:27 UTC

Undocumented teenagers living in the United States, known as DREAMers, have few opportunities to publicly express their hardships. As a way to shed light on their plight, Houston-based non-profit Neighborhood Centers asked undocumented teens to share glimpses into their lives with an Instagram campaign using the hashtag #ThisUndocumentedLife.

Following a month-long Instagram campaign in July, Neighborhood Centers released the eight winning photos from its "This Undocumented Life" contest, featured in black and white in the gallery above.

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"We really wanted to give undocumented youth the opportunity to share their stories and moments that are so often left in the shadows," Ana MacNaught, the immigration program manager for Neighborhood Centers, told Mashable. "We thought black and white photography would let them voice their lives and joys and fears."

Large versions of the mobile photos were revealed Thursday night in Houston at an event for community members and leaders and will stay on display indefinitely.

Texas is home to 450,000 of the nation's 1.5 million DREAMers, making it second only to California in the number of undocumented youth.

Image: Jose M. Santoyo

Topics: immigration, instagram, non-profits, Social Good, U.S., US & World, US & World