American Dreamers 2015
Distributed by Tugg, Inc., 855-321-8844
Produced by iNdigo Project Media, Jenniffer Castillo, Saray Deiseil, Nicholas Stich
Directed by Jenniffer Castillo, Saray Deiseil
DVD, color, 88 min.
High School - General Adult
Education, Social Studies, Immigration
Date Entered: 01/17/2017
Reviewed by LaRoi Lawton, Library & Learning Resources Department, Bronx Community College of the City University of New York“On March 10th 2012 a group of young people without proper legal status in the United States began to walk across the country” advocating for the DREAM ACT, an American legislative proposal for a multi-phase process for undocumented immigrants in the United States, that would first grant conditional residency and upon meeting further qualifications, permanent residency. They are college students, young professionals, activists, and community leaders. This film is about their historic journey and struggle as undocumented youths openly walking 3,000 miles across America's heartland from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. to raise awareness for immigrant rights
Alex Aldana is a queer undocumented immigrant rights activist who works as a community organizer and health advocate for Latino LGBTQ youth; Veronica Gomez was brought over to the United States three days before her fourth birthday. Today, she holds a B.A. in Criminal Justice with an option in Law Enforcement and Administration from California State University East Bay; Nico Gonzalez was led to Chicago, Illinois by the hand of his mother when he was five years old. He explains she is now “buried in the land of the free” where she is considered a criminal.” Raymie Gutierrez is an ally and the first of nine children to be born in the United States. She received an Associate’s Degree in Sociology from Salt Lake Community College (SLCC), and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Sociology at the University of Utah. Jonathan Martinez grew up in the state of Georgia. When he turned 17, he sat down with a Coast Guard recruiter because he had his heart set on becoming a Search and Rescue Diver, but he was turned away because he isn’t a citizen of the country he calls home. Jose Sandoval is a freshman at UC Berkeley majoring in Molecular Toxicology and Pre-business with a minor in Theater. He explains his mom’s fears of facing deportation stopped him from traveling to other states around America. Javier Hernandez is an undocumented queer community organizer from California who currently resides in Colorado and is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. As an immigrant rights activist, Javier has co-founded several undocumented youth-led organizations. Most recently he has co-founded Colorado Organize, Resist, Escalate (COORE) which is an undocumented youth-led network committed to fighting for the rights of immigrant youth and their communities.