Erika Espinoza
The Border Protection, Antiterrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act (H.R. 44 3 7) aims to address illegal immigration by strengthening interior enforcement of immigration laws and implementing additional security border (NCSL, 2017). It criminalizes any violation of federal immigration laws, including unlawful entrance and presence, essentially criminalizing more than 11 million undocumented people and anyone associated with them through work, services, or academia.
According to Immigrant Defense Project, an organization that works to secure fairness and justice for immigrants in the U.S., about 16 million people in the country live in “mixed-status” families. These families live with fear and uncertainty, as any conviction could result in their noncitizen relative being deported (Wiley, 2013). In fact, a 2013 report found that 150,000 children were separated from one or both parents as a result of these policies (Wiley, 2013). The Human Impact Partners conducted a survey and focus groups and found that children separated from their parents showed side effects of fear, anxiety, insecurity, depression, withdrawal, and inability to focus. A similar study conducted by Center for American Progress, noted that deportation is a “gendered process,” which refers to most deportees being male. Because most males get deported, single mothers are left to raise a family on a single income.
"This project aims to provide moral support for the undocumented community who are at risk of deportation; it also inspires advocacy for this social issue; and provides the potential protection for this community."
In light of these immigration policies, activism has emerged as a form of communication, storytelling, and action with the goal of education of the immigrant community, as well as their allies and opponents. For example, United We Dream Network has 53 local groups, 120,000 members, and an online reach of nearly two million people. Through this organization, nearly 100,000 people been educated about immigration and DACA (UWD, 2017). The UWD Network offers education access for immigrants, defends them against deportations, and organize campaigns to advocate immigrant rights. Its most current tool is an app called “Notifica” which allows people who are detained by ICE to send an immediate alert to a select contact group notifying them of the situation. However, there are no usability tests to determine its effectiveness.
This creative project is a transmedia and advocacy effort for undocumented youth in the U.S. Undocumented youth protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) are known as “Dreamers.” After many alterations of this deferred program and the current administration, Dreamers face uncertainty about their presence in the country and their future aspirations. Through this empathetic storytelling campaign, Dreamers are encouraged to share their DACA testimonials and engage with other Dreamers, while educating unsupportive audiences. This project will aim to provide moral support for the undocumented community who are at risk of deportation; it will also inspire advocacy for this social issue; and provide the potential protection for this community. In addition to providing support, this prototype will be tested to determine the effectiveness of digital tools for these types of situations. Therefore, it could serve as a framework or model for already existing developed apps such as Notifica.
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