Delaware Tech to host free film screening and discussion Nov. 29

Delaware Technical Community College’s Owens Campus in Georgetown will offer a free screening of the film “United We Are Dreaming” at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 29, in the Arts & Science Center theater.

Following the film will be a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Ileana Smith, former vice president and campus director at Delaware Tech Owens Campus.

“United We Are Dreaming” is a 52-minute documentary that looks at the life circumstances of five Dreamers, adults now 22 to 40 years of age, who were brought to the United States as small children by undocumented parents. They have grown up in the U.S., attended K-12 schools here, and have now progressed to college, military service and/or employment.

“United We Are Dreaming” is a Hearts and Minds Film made by Delaware-based production company Teleduction. Work on the film began in 2020 at the start of the pandemic. The documentary features important pieces of the stories of five Dreamers with connections to Delaware. During production, two graduated from college, another had a child, and the others transitioned to graduate programs and careers.

In an unanticipated event, the mother of a participating Dreamer became a naturalized American citizen after decades of residency and petitioning.

Collectively, the segments offer a clear and compelling picture of the impact a long-fractured immigration system is having on the lives of Dreamers and their families, and the tenacity of human spirit that allows them to persist.

The term Dreamer derives from the Dream Act, bipartisan legislation originally introduced in 2001 which, if passed, would have provided a special pathway to citizenship for these young undocumented residents, estimated at times to be up to a million in number.

In 2012, President Barack Obama, by executive order, created Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. DACA provides temporary protection from deportation and the ability to legally work, among other privileges. As 2023 approaches, DACA recipients are dispersed in communities throughout the U.S. where they are building careers, raising their American-born children and otherwise immersed in their communities.

Comprising part of an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrant residents in the U.S., some 600,000 Dreamers remain in legal limbo.

The Delaware Tech Owens Campus is at 21179 College Drive, Georgetown.