What Happens to a Dream Deferred

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An intimate portrait of a day in the life of two DACA recipients, José Adrián Badillo Carlos and Osvaldo Sandoval, graduate students at Michigan State University whose lives were thrown into limbo after the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was rescinded on September 5, 2017.

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Main credits

Boehm, Scott (film director)
Boehm, Scott (screenwriter)
Boehm, Scott (film producer)
Johnston, Peter (film producer)

Other credits

Cinematography and editing, Peter Johnston.

Keywords

short films,short film,short,non-feature,run time,short run time,running time,short running time,live-action short,documentary short,animated short,live-action short film,documentary short film,animated short film,migration studies,migrant studies,immigration studies,refugee studies,diaspora studies,resettlement studies,settlement studies,migration,migrant,immigration,refugee,diaspora,resettlement,settlement,refugees,international migration,continental migration,resettling,settlers,settler,migrant,migrant studies,first generation immigrant,first generation immigration,new americans,new spaniards,child,children,childhood,kid,girl,girlhood,boy,boyhood,teen,teenager,puberty,adolescence,adolescent,coming-of-age,minor,kiddo,kids,juvenile,stripling,moppet,tyke,tween,tot,toddler,sonny,girlie,underaged,dependent,youngster,infancy,babyhood,girlhood,boyhood,friendships,juvenescence,juvenility,springtime,early life,education,school,pedagogy,schooling,elementary education,secondary education,upper education,advanced education,education gap,learning,schooling,university,college,degrees,high school,middle school,junior high school,public school,private school,independent school,elementary school,schooling,school policy,educational equity,sociology,anthropology,psychology,sociological,sociological perspectives,conflict theory,human conflicts,sociological thinking,conflict perspective,topics in sociology,sociology topics,sociology studies,social studies,people and cultures,human relations,human relationships,cultural studies,culture studies ,international relations,global relations,global studies,international studies,international affairs,intercontinental relations,intercontinental studies,foreign studies,foreign relations,national relations,national studies,cross-continental studies,cross-continental relations,political science,micropolitics,macropolitics,political theory,political education,political movements,political thinking,political criticism,poly sci,polysci,political sci,political sciences,political history,history of politics,political systems,north america,america,us,usa,united states,united states of america,us mexico and canada,map of north america,north american countries,states of north america,provinces of north america,countries of north america,continental america,latinx,latin american,latino,latina,latin american people,hispanic,hispanic people,hispanic people,chicano,chicana,latine,latinx heritage,afro-latinx; "What Happens to a Dream Deferred"; Pragda Films

WEBVTT

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I\'m from Guadalajara, Jalisco.

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I came to the United States when I was 10 years old.

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And I\'ve been in the United States now for 18 years.

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My parents told me, \"We\'re going to Disneyland

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and then we\'ll go back to Mexico.\"

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18 years have gone by and we\'re still here.

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I was born in Mexico City.

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My mom is from Mexico City, my dad is from MichoacĂ¡n.

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My dad came to the United States first

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and then he sent for us, the whole family.

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My siblings, my mother and I came together.

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I came when I was 15.

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DACA allowed me to get where I am now.

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It didn\'t fix everything, but it solved our problems.

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It didn\'t give us a whole loaf of bread, but crumbs:

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\"Survive with this.\"

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Well, that\'s how we survived.

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DACA is simply a temporary permit,

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but for us it meant...

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so much.

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It was everything for us.

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Thanks to DACA I\'m here.

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The moment when everything became difficult was

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during the 2016 elections.

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The rhetoric used by a person I don\'t want to name

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was that all Mexicans and all immigrants are

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rapists

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killers

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or criminals.

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Throughout this whole circus,

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we laughed.

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We said, \"It\'s impossible that a person like this

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can be a presidential candidate.\"

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\"It\'s not going to happen,\" we said.

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\"It\'s not going to reach that point.\"

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We tried to stay calm.

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\"DACA is going to stay alive.\"

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We thought it made a mockery of politics,

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but the crucial moment arrived.

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In November, when the elections took place,

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that day was

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one of, if not the most difficult days

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of my life

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because

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all of my dreams

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were shattered.

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It was like waking up from a dream.

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An inconceivable reality.

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Once again we asked ourselves

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\"What\'s happening?\" \"What are we doing?\"

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It was a difficult moment.

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I think it was...

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I think that night was

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One of the two most difficult moments

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of my life.

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I think even more

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I think even more than leaving Mexico.

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I think this is worse.

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This anxiety.

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Many years have passed, but...

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I don\'t remember ever feeling like this.

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My parents decided to come to the United States

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looking for a better future like most immigrants.

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They were looking to give me the opportunity to go to college,

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to get a good education, to be someone important.

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We got here and after a few days of getting adjusted

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my parents asked me \"What do you want to do?\"

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\"Do you want to work or do you want to go to school?\"

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And I told them, \"I don\'t care.\"

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\"I can work or I can go to school, I don\'t know.\"

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At that point my mom intervened

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and thanks to her I am here today.

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When DACA was approved my life changed radically.

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When I was doing my B.A. and my master\'s degree

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I didn\'t have the opportunity to work professionally

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in my field of study.

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I worked at Subway while I was doing my master\'s.

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Thanks to DACA I was able to gain experience as a teacher.

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I was able to teach classes and they paid me to teach.

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Which was what I really wanted to do before

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but I had to work.

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Thanks to DACA I was able to come to Michigan State University

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to do a doctorate degree.

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I had an advisor that told me \"You\'re not going to get anywhere.\"

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\"I don\'t know why you are thinking about college.\"

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\"It\'s better to look for a job at McDonald\'s

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flipping burgers.\"

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I remember when I was working at Subway and I was always thinking

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\"When are we going to get our papers so I can get out of here

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and be able to work doing what I really like.\"

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We\'re students.

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We\'re not millionaires.

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We\'re working one or two jobs,

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like a lot of people.

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We go to school.

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I\'m the same as your neighbor.

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I\'m the same as your child\'s friend.

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I\'m the same as your co-worker.

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I\'m here trying to improve my life.

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I\'m from Mexico.

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I came to the United States when I was five years old.

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I lived in California until we moved to Michigan.

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We have a daughter named Valeria. She\'s five years old.

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This is one of the most difficult parts of our situation

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because she depends on us.

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It\'s not easy making decisions when you have a daughter.

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Everything I do, I do thinking of her.

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She\'s our inspiration.

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She\'s too young to understand the situation.

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We don\'t know what\'s going to happen, and...

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we don\'t know what\'s going to happen to her.

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It\'s a desperate situation you could say

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because we just want her to be okay.

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We\'re at risk of being deported.

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And if they deport us, they\'ll send her to

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a foster home.

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They\'ll have to separate us,

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if we get deported.

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Kids need a stable place.

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We have some stability now

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but in the future who knows where we\'re going to end up.

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We got married last Christmas.

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It\'s difficult because we can\'t plan ahead.

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Sit. Shake. Good boy, Waffles!

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It\'s stressful when no one knows what\'s going to happen.

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It\'s like we are in limbo.

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They were brought here as children. They had no choice in the matter.

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And it\'s just not right for somebody to all of a sudden just determine that they have to go.

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It\'s just not fair.

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They\'re not bad people.

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They\'re just trying to make it through life like we all are.

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And it doesn\'t make sense that they\'re being punished for it.

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We\'re going to stay.

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And if they\'re going to take away our papers,

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we\'ll go on living like we always have.

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We\'ve done it before,

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and we reached a certain point.

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But...