Play highlights the plight of undocumented college-hopefuls
Alison MillerIssue date: 1/14/10 Section: News
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Many of those children attend high school and grow up like any other American teen. But, when it's time to go to college, their dream is stopped short because of their illegal status.
Local playwright James E. Garcia hopes to play a small part in changing that with the showing of, "Dream Act," a play based around the proposed Dream Act legislation, which would help children of undocumented immigrants become eligible for citizenship in exchange for the completion of a college degree or two years of military service.
College Times: Explain the nature of your play.
James E. Garcia: It's a one-act drama … It's about 55 minutes long and essentially it's based on [a radio interview] that was done in 2007 originally for a program called This American Life, which airs on National Public Radio. Essentially, a California writer interviewed a young woman attending UCLA and she was undocumented and ultimately wanted to become a doctor, as I recall. It was part of that interview as well as my own personal experience teaching undocumented university students that inspired the play.
The play will be performed in both Spanish and English. What was your reasoning behind that?
Well, I guess it's a story that should be heard by both audiences. The thing about undocumented immigrant children is that they come here so young that they grow up and a lot of them only speak English. Also, a lot of people who are involved with the topic of either the Dream Act legislation or dealing with kids like these are English-dominant folks. But then again, at the same time, the parents of these kids and a lot of the family members of these kids are Spanish-dominant.
So do you have the same performers for both the English and the Spanish version?
Not completely, because it is difficult to find actors - one, that are good actors, and two, that are fluent in both languages. Probably about half of the cast, or about 40 percent, are in both.
What do you hope to achieve with this play?
Well, I think whenever I write I try to write a good story, a good drama, something that will be compelling to audiences. But at the same time, typically I am writing about something that has touched me in some way, whether it has to do with some issue in the community or an issue in society or something that sort of affects me on some level. So, certainly this topic affects me at a very personal level and professional level. But, it's also a very good story … So, ultimately, what I always hope to achieve is that people will come in and be engaged. But I also hope that they will learn something about the whole subculture.
If this bill gets passed, how do you think it will change the lives of those facing deportation?
[It] provides an alternative for so many of these kids that they simply don't have now at all … What the bill doesn't do is automatically give a person citizenship. What it does say is 'here's a process in which you can pursue a life legally here in your country past your high school graduation.'
What is your response to those people who are against something like this, believing that the US should be concerned first and foremost with its own citizens?
We should be concerned for our own citizens, but we also should be concerned on a basic human level for fellow human beings. Some of these kids have graduated from high school and say, 'Oh I want to go to college now,' and they go to fill out their application, and their parents for the first time in their lives tell them that they're in the country illegally. To critics of the idea … I tell them, believe in them. You can [disagree] or you can take the reality that these kids are essentially American.
"Dream Act" presented by New Carpa Theater Co.; Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Phoenix, 4027 E. Lincoln Drive, Paradise Valley, 480.840.8400; and First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1407 N. Second Street, Phoenix, 623.252.2772; Friday, January 15 to Sunday, January 17, times vary, $8-$10
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 4
Sam Good
posted 1/14/10 @ 9:25 AM MST
Since when are the 18- to 22-year-old college-age students so called only "children of illegal immigrants," rather than themselves being "illegal immigrants"?
Another illogical generalization, concludes that children of illegal immigrants and illegal immigrants "should not be discriminated against," as if the classification of being illegal itself deserves constitutional strict scrutiny protection. (Continued…)
Carmen Cornejo
posted 1/14/10 @ 4:51 PM MST
I highly recommend DREAM Act to those who want to know the true implications of what means to be a young immigrant in the USA and reject the one-line hate speech of the extreme right. (Continued…)
Alejandra Matias
posted 1/14/10 @ 5:02 PM MST
The DREAM Act bill will only help this country positively in many ways. This bill only promises to give a path to legalization to students that are willing to pursue higher education and are willing to give back to the community where they grew up. (Continued…)
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