Co-Presented by Long Island Jobs with Justice

A powerful new documentary about the challenges faced by undocumented students and their struggle for obtaining legalization once they turn 18

General Admission Tickets: $20
Students: $10

STUDENT PANEL PRESENTATION and RECEPTION will follow the screening

Each year, 65,000 undocumented students graduate from U.S. high schools without papers. These young people came into the U.S. as children, were educated in U.S. schools, and know only the U.S. as their home, yet upon graduating high school they face financial barriers that prevent their opportunities in higher education. Though all children are guaranteed an education in U.S. public schools and though all state residents have a right to attend college with in-state tuition, undocumented students are denied access to financial aid. They live at risk of arrest, detention and deportation to countries they may not even remember. Currently, there is no path to citizenship for these young people. Papers: Stories of Undocumented Youth is a film that highlights the life of undocumented students and their struggle for obtaining legalization once they turn 18.

Imagine that you were a model student and active member of your community but upon graduating high school couldn’t work, drive, apply for a state ID, or get on an airplane. Imagine that you couldn’t accept the college
scholarships that you had been awarded and that you had to pay foreign student tuition in the state where you grew up. Imagine you lived in constant fear of being deported from the only home you’ve ever known to a country you don’t remember, where you know no one, and don’t even speak the language. For undocumented students beginning their senior year of high school this month, this is not a fictitious Orwellian nightmare but reality. Pending legislation called the DREAM Act is their only hope. The DREAM Act, first introduced in 2001 and re-introduced in March 2009, would provide a path to citizenship for undocumented youth who attend college or join the military.  The challenges these students face and their organized efforts to pass the DREAM Act are unknown to most Americans but are brought to light in Papers: Stories of Undocumented Youth, a feature-length documentary chronicling one of the most critical civil rights struggles of our time. (USA, 2011, 88 min., color, DVD)

RSVP with Anita Halasz at ahalasz.lijwj@gmail.com or 631-348-1170 ext. 310