Valley of the Undocumented

Inspired by the millions of young people who live in the United States with the very real fear that they could lose a family member to deportation, "Valley of the Undocumented" is a short film directed by Guillermo Diaz (Scandal, Half Baked) that conveys the struggle of many American families. Set to a spoken word poem written and performed by Lemon Andersen (Def Poetry Jam), this gripping piece made its debut as part of Immigrant Heritage Month, a month long program created by Welcome.us.

Many undocumented youth have been given legal status under DACA, a memorandum authored by the Obama Administration on June 15, 2012 calling for deferred action for certain undocumented young people who came to the U.S. as children and have pursued education or military service. This does not grant protection to their families, meaning they continue to live their lives at risk of deportation. In "Valley of the Undocumented," Mr. Diaz portrays four families who all live with this difficult circumstance. Other videos in the #WelcomeUS campaign include the likes of Rocsi Diaz, Naya Rivera, David Blaine, Jeremy Irons, Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Paola Mendoza.