This fall’s debate leading up to a botched vote in the U.S. Senate focused primarily on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in many LGBT circles. The same piece of legislation that contained the impending DADT repeal also contained the DREAM Act, a provision that would allow undocumented young people the opportunity to achieve legal status through high school graduation and two years of college or military service.
A new documentary released in September, “Papers: Stories of Undocumented Youth,” contains the story of Jorge Gutiérrez, a 26-year-old Latino man who identifies as queer. His mother brought him to the U.S. when he was 10, but he went on to graduate from California State University in 2008.
Attending, much less graduating from, college is no small achievement for young people like Gutiérrez. Facing seemingly insurmountable odds as an undocumented youth, he also faced many of the same challenges LGBT young people face even as U.S. citizens.
The film addresses in-depth the history and possible future of the DREAM Act, which like a DADT repeal will be considered again after the November elections.
The film has been screened only three times in North Carolina (once in WIlmington and twice in Chapel Hill) and not at all in South Carolina. For more on the film, including a trailer, information on screening licensing or to buy a copy, visit papersthemovie.com. : :