'The Dream is Now' immigration reform documentary screened at ASU

A community screening of “The Dream is Now,” a 30-minute documentary featuring two ASU alumni that was supported by ASU’s Comparative Border Studies, recently was hosted by DREAMZone on the Tempe campus. Attendees were asked to RSVP at http://asutempeapril30.eventbrite.com/.

As the debate about immigration reform in the United States unfolds, “The Dream is Now” is being produced in real time by Academy Award-winning director Davis Guggenheim (“Waiting for Superman” and “An Inconvenient Truth”). He said the documentary gives voice to and puts a human face on the undocumented children of immigrants who are desperate to earn their citizenship and give back to the only country they have ever called "home."

According to its website, "The Dream is Now" also goes beyond the personal to place its stories in a larger context and explore the consequences of continuing current policies and maintaining the status quo. Those consequences impact not only these young people today, but also America’s future. The film is intended to bring this pressing issue to the country’s attention, where communities can debate, discuss and decide what is right, what is fair and what is best for the nation, the website adds.

“The Dream is Now” also brings the story close to home by featuring two ASU alumni, Jose and Erika. The documentary describes how Jose has an ASU degree in mechanical engineering, but that his diploma collects dust because he is unable to work legally in the United States. It also features Erika, a courageous leader of the national DREAMer movement who fears that any day her family could be deported.

DREAMzone is a 4-hour ally certification workshop designed to establish a visible support network for undocumented students at ASU. The name DREAMzone is derived from the alias "DREAMers," which undocumented students have adopted as potential beneficiaries of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act.

Comparative Border Studies, within the School of Transborder Studies, is a strategic research initiative designed to bring scholars, artists and publics together to discuss and debate issues pertaining to geopolitical and cultural borders.

For more information, contact Elizabeth Cantú at (979) 492-7502 or Elizabeth.Cantu@asu.edu or visit borders.asu.edu.