DENVER — Wednesday, June 15 marks the 10th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, commonly referred to as DACA.
The two-year permits provided by DACA, a program implemented during the Obama administration, have been a lifeline to undocumented immigrants that arrived to the U.S. as children. DACA also allows its recipients, known as "dreamers," to obtain work permits and drivers licenses. The program has provided protections to around 700,000 people in the U.S., despite efforts from the Trump administration to dismantle the program.
[Related: Colorado 'Dreamer' shares her story of immigration, education and perseverance]
To commemorate the 10-year anniversary of DACA, Rocky Mountain PBS will publish an online broadcast of “UndocuAmerica Monologues: 10 Years of DACA in Story and Song,” a production of the Boulder-based Motus Theater.
"Motus Theater has been developing artfully crafted monologues with DACA recipients to uplift the personal experience of people impacted by U.S. immigration policy since DACA’s inception in 2012. Regardless of your perspective on immigration, this performance aims to encourage thoughtful reflection on DACA and the families who are caught in the crosshairs of U.S. immigration policy," according to a press release from Motus Theater.
The theater company said the monologues feature themes including "the threat of deportation, the injustice of being sent into exile from the country in which you were raised, border patrol, the current human and civil rights threats to immigrants, racial profiling, and more."
You can watch the full program below starting June 15 at 5 a.m. MT.
Mira el programa en español aquí.
Tania Chairez, Cristian Solano-Córdova, Alejandro Fuentes-Mena and Reydesel Salvidrez Rodriguez performed monologues. The performance was recorded at Buell Public Media Center in Denver, home of Rocky Mountain Public Media.
"UndocuAmerica Monologues" will be available for streaming online at video.rmpbs.org, as well as Rocky Mountain PBS' YouTube page. In addition to the online broadcast, there will be murals of Motus Theater’s monologists in Denver and Boulder with QR codes linking to the monologues in both English and Spanish.
Motus Theater said its mission is to tell "moving stories that move us forward, using the power of art to build alliances across diverse segments of our community." Denver's Westword, in its 2022 "Best of Denver" issue, awarded Motus Theater with the title of "best theater company programming."
For more information on "UndocuAmerica Monologues," click here.
