Xunami Muse and Geneva Karr are making history on Season 16 of RuPaul’s Drag Race. The two queens — Muse, who’s Panamanian, and Karr, who’s Mexican — are the first two queens to compete on the show while living with DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
“It’s a reality that is often overlooked,” Muse tells Rolling Stone. “Growing up there was this pressure of being a model citizen, and well guess what? We are these model citizens. All I want to do is spread my joy and do my drag and make people laugh and smile.”
Hours before Episode 4 of Drag Race airs on MTV, Rolling Stone exclusively shares a sneak peek of Muse and Karr opening up on the show about their legal status, which they hope shines a light on the realities of more than half a million DREAMers in the U.S.
“We represent the American dream, we are proof that hard work pays off. It really warms my heart to know DACA recipients are feeling represented and seen on this new season of Drag Race,” adds Karr.
In the clip, Karr reveals to Muse that she was brought to the U.S. by her parents when she was only 7 years old for “a better life and the American dream.” In the clip, the Rio Grande Valley native describes how she doesn’t always feel “100% safe” since the protections afforded by the executive action can go at any time.
“We literally would not be able to be here if it wasn’t for that. So thank you, Obama!” Muse says in the clip. “DACA is the reason why I’m able to legally work and be on Drag Race.”
DACA was instated by Barack Obama in 2012 to protect undocumented young adults who were brought into the country as children from deportation. It grants recipients a social security number and allows them to work in the U.S. legally.
“Unfortunately, there are certain obstacles that we face, sometimes in silence,” Muse tells Rolling Stone. “By speaking out, the audience will get to see another side of what we go through, and maybe it’ll push politicians to come up with a solution because there still isn’t a clear path to citizenship for us.”
The struggles we have gone through since childhood, and the struggles we continue to go through every two years to re-apply and hope we get approved is [not really talked about],” adds Karr.
Especially during an election year, the future of DACA is in limbo. Over the last several years, activists and President Joe Biden have called on Congress to pass permanent protections for recipients of this status, but just in September, a Texas judge ruled that the Obama-era protection was illegal. And as Muse says, there’s still no pathway for DACA recipients to become citizens.
“Before DACA, I remember my parents telling me to go unnoticed, or not cause attention to yourself,” Muse says. “It’s about having to undo that and take space, even if to some I’m an alien, or illegal. I’m really just human.”
Along with their DACA status, both queens put their identity on the forefront of their drag.
Karr entered the Werk Room sporting a sparkly Mexican flag-emblazoned dress and walked the runway in traditional folcórico garb. “I remember when we first came to the US, my mother told me, ‘Never forget your roots, where we come from, our traditions, and everything that makes us who we are,’” Karr says. “I’ve always kept that close to my heart and anytime I get the opportunity to showcase how beautiful my heritage and culture is, I take the chance!”
Muse also gets to showcase her identity as an Afro-indigenous queer Panamanian. Aside from Love & Hip-Hop’s Amara La Negra, Muse says that the Afro-Latine experience seldom gets showcased on television. “I’m more of a reminder that we’re not rare,” Muse says. “They’re just not looking at us, but we’re right there.”
New episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race air Friday nights at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.
