Until Tuesday morning, Sandra Perez, a young film student at University of Southern California, had her entire future mapped out.
Perez was headed for Hollywood in the hopes of becoming the next Guillermo del Toro when President Trump announced he was ending DACA, an Obama-era program that shields young undocumented immigrants from deportation.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Perez told TheWrap. “I just have no idea.”
Perez, 28, who is graduating this fall, said the announcement could mean she’d have to return to her native Mexico, the country left at the age of 13.
“The plan was to continue writing and look for job in the entertainment industry,” Perez, 28, told TheWrap. “But now I can’t work for anyone.”
Since its inception, DACA has protected nearly 800,000 young undocumented immigrants from deportation. But on Tuesday Trump ordered an end to the program, calling it an “amnesty-first approach.” Trump has given Congress six months to create legislation codifying DACA. If no such legislation is created, he has suggested he will undo DACA with an executive order. Such legislation is unlikely under the Republican-controlled House and Senate, which refused to do so under Obama.
Perez, an aspiring writer and director, was hoping to tell immigrant stories after finishing film school. But all that has now been put on hold, until she figures out what to do next.
“I’m mostly frustrated and angry,” she said.
The Hollywood community is already bracing for possible ripple effects following Trump’s decision, warning the move to end DACA could have negative economic ramifications to the entertainment community.
“What Trump is doing is not only immoral and cruel, it’s also bad for business,” Santiago Pozo, CEO and Founder of Arenas Entertainment, a media company specializing in marketing to U.S. Latino audiences, told TheWrap. “This is crazy.”
DACA, established via executive order by the Obama administration in 2012, offers two-year work permits and temporary Social Security numbers to so-called “Dreamers,” immigrants under 30 who were brought to the U.S. before their 16th birthday. In order to get the permit, Dreamers are required to either finish high school (or still be enrolled) and stay out of legal trouble. Since its inception, DACA has protected nearly 800,000 young undocumented immigrants from deportation.
Pozo, himself a former undocumented immigrant who later became a naturalized U.S. citizen, says he’s the perfect example of why eliminating DACA is detrimental to Hollywood’s economy.
“Arenas has paid millions of dollars in taxes, social security, and has made all kinds of contributions to society,” he said. “This company, started by an undocumented immigrant, has given employment to hundreds of people. Hundreds of families make a living through the jobs that I created. This is repugnant and stupid because it’s going to hurt the economic fiber of America.”
The end of DACA could also have an effect on Hollywood’s increasingly diverse talent pool, just as the Hispanic community is becoming more visible on TV and film.
“Anything that limits our ability to attract good people who are highly motivated and want to be here hurts us all,” Allen Mayer, head of 42 West’s Strategic Communications Division, told TheWrap.
Trump’s decision to end DACA has baffled leaders of the Latino community, who say it muzzles those whose voices need to be heard the most.
“Already media has a huge diversity problem when it comes to connecting with the next generation of storytellers,” Beatriz Acevedo, president and co-founder of Mitú, a Latino-centric online content developer, told TheWrap. “Dreamers at risk might never be able to have a chance to tell their story and that is a big loss not only for the creative community but for our country as well.”
In the meantime, Perez says she’s trying to figure out how to absorb the news and figure out her next step.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said. “I don’t even know how to feel.”
22 'Rediculous' Typos From Trump's White House, From 'Attaker' to 'Unpresidented' (Photos)
You can't have "the best words" if you can't correctly spell them. Even more serious than the Trump administration's beef with CNN is its beef with grammar, as is evidenced by a score of tweets and official White House documents that are riddled with spelling errors, misused words and downright gibberish. Here are 21 of the worst (and most laughable) offenses.
"Innaccurately"
Oh, the irony! The White House tried to call out the Congressional Budget Office for inaccuracy but inaccurately spelled the word "innaccurately."
White House/Twitter
"Honered"
Before "covfefe," there was "honered." Of course, newly-inaugurated Trump meant to tweet that he was "honored," but that's not what happened.
Twitter
"Unpresidented"
According to Huffington Post, Trump Twitter-slammed China for seizing a U.S. underwater drone in December 2016. He also made up a word in the process. By “unpresidented,” we can assume he meant “unprecedented.”
Twitter
"San Bernadino"
The White House got a few things wrong with this list of “unreported” terror attacks. First, many of the incidents actually had been reported. Second, “San Bernardino” was spelled incorrectly.
White House/Twitter
"Attaker"
In the same report, the WH managed to misspell “attacker” 23 times in a row. That has to be some sort of record.
White House/Twitter
"W.E.B. DeBois"
The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) botched the name of legendary civil rights activist, W.E.B. DuBois. It’s DU Bois, as in “DU” they realize the epic mistake they made?
Twitter
"Deepest apologizes"
Apparently, the DOE did catch the gaffe and subsequently tweeted out an apology… sort of.
Twitter/The Washington Post
"Columbia"
This is a common spelling error that also tripped up Steve Harvey in the past. For the record, when referring to the country, the correct spelling is "Colombia."
White House/Twitter
“Possibility of lasting peach”
According to a White House press release, one of Trump’s objectives during his most recent visit to Israel was to “promote the possibility of lasting peach” between Israelis and Palestinians. Who needs peace when you can have peaches?
White House/Twitter
“Couple with changes”
Another typo from the same press release. This time, someone left off the “d” in the word “coupled.” Hence, we have “A new approach, couple with changes.”
White House/Twitter
"Councel"
After Trump tweeted this misspelling on May 18, Merriam-Webster reported that "councel" was their most-searched word of that day.
Twitter/The Hill
"Tapp"
President Obama did not "tapp" Trump's phone at any time during his two terms in office, because there is no such word as "tapp" in the English language.
Twitter
Too vs. To
This was not a tweet. This was Donald Trump's official inauguration portrait... with an egregious typo printed front and center.
Library of Congress
"Teresa May"
This mistake doesn’t seem too critical… until you consider the fact that Teresa (sans “h”) May is the name of a British porn star, not the British Prime Minister. The latter spells her first name with an "h."
White House/Huffington Post
"Hear by"
He should have typed "hereby." Of course, POTUS received a lot of flack for this one, among his many other botched spellings.
Twitter/Pro Publica
"Educatuon"
Failure took the form of a White House Snapchat on April 17. There's no excuse for this one.
White House/Snap
"Thr" and "Gas"
Trump displayed poor spelling in his attempt to shade two credible news outlets via Twitter.
Twitter
"Amoung"
"Amoung," many other things, he will also not use spellcheck.
Twitter
"Predisent"
This was a statement made by Trump's lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, in an official White House document.
White House/Twitter
"Rediculous"
Once again, Trump unleashes a grammatically incorrect Twitter rage at his arch nemesis, CNN.
As Merriam-Webster so nicely put it, "heal (to become healthy again) heel (a contemptible person)."
Twitter
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Welcome to the White House: where the words are made up, and spellcheck doesn’t matter
You can't have "the best words" if you can't correctly spell them. Even more serious than the Trump administration's beef with CNN is its beef with grammar, as is evidenced by a score of tweets and official White House documents that are riddled with spelling errors, misused words and downright gibberish. Here are 21 of the worst (and most laughable) offenses.