Detained in the Desert - a play by Josefina Lopez

This past Saturday after some last minute phone calls and motivation by Eliza, six of us piled into a car to go see a play at UC Riverside. Detained in the Desert, by Josefina Lopez, is a satirical drama that explored the "anti-immigrant atmosphere in Arizona, the rise in violence against Latinos fueled by extremist media, and the plight of undocumented workers."

Prior to the start of the play, a documentary filmmaker asked if she could interview Eliza & Denise (left) regarding the law SB 1070.

She first asked them if they were familiar with the law, to which they replied, "yes!"

And when she asked them what it was, they were able to explain that...

Law SB 1070 allows and encourages officers to check anyone suspected of being an "alien" immigrant for their required documents, and makes it a misdemeanor if an immigrant is caught without documentation.

Denise expresses her thoughts about the law:

"I think the SB 1070 law is an unfair law, that discriminates against people based on the color of their skin. Racial profiling is a huge byproduct of the law, and it demonstrates that people of the law can be very racist despite the fact that we are supposed to be a great country free of discrimination. I would definitely change or get rid of this law if I could, because everyone deserves the right to a good life and happiness, without having to live in constant fear that they will be stopped and questioned because they have colored skin."

Katy (left) reflects on her reaction to the play and the controversial content of the production...

"Watching the play gave me mixed emotions. At the beginning, it was about a radio producer who was saying many mean things about Mexicans, and encouraging Arizonians to deport them, which made me feel really angry. Later on, we saw that an illegal Canadian immigrant and his American Latina girlfriend were driving near the frontier and when they stopped, a police officer followed them, demanding to see the girl's documents. Even though she was a legal citizen, she decided not to show them because she felt that it wasn't fair that they didn't ask her illegal boyfriend for his documents. This frustrated me, because of the obvious racial profiling. Illegal residents aren't only Mexicans; they are also Canadians, Africans, Asians, etc. The ending scenes revealed to us that many people become racist due to influence of their parents or other relatives. This play really taught us to see many different perspectives of immigration rights."

Welcome to Confronteras!

Introducing Confronteras! We are a group of high school students, young adult mentors, and supportive teachers who will be confronting the Mexico-US border in a number of ways over the next few months. We are currently preparing for a trip to Tucson, AZ & Nogales, Mexico this February -- While there, we will meet with many different community members, non-profit and governmental organizations, in order to better understand the wall that has been built to separate the two countries and the human rights issues surrounding immigration policies.

Please follow our work here! We will be posting about the trainings we have and the events that we will attend and host. Join us in our effort to better connect ourselves with our communities, and understand the social justice issues that surround us, within a global context.