A group of ASU students and faculty are using the theater to speak up about their opinions on immigration raids.
“The Tears of Lives,” a play by New Carpa Theater, which ran the last two weekends at Playhouse at the Park in Phoenix, reflects what happens to children after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials arrest and deport their parents. These children are left to stay with relatives and at times are turned over to Child Protective Services.
All the proceeds, totaling to more than $10,000, went to help preserve and develop the Macehualli Community Campus Facility, a day labor center in Phoenix.
“The play is about how the enforcement of immigration policies is ripping families apart,” said James Garcia, the playwright and a faculty associate at the West campus. “This is a very harmful and negative trend that has a big impact on children who are at most times citizens of this country.”
The play is based on a true story about three children who survived on their own and attended school for about a month last year while their father, an undocumented immigrant who has been living in the U.S. for 21 years, was held by ICE, Garcia said. He added that the image most Americans have of immigration policies reflects what they see on television.
Because of this, Garcia said he thinks Americans are getting “a very narrow interpretation of the story.”
“When we see on television an image of a man handcuffed on the corner sidewalk after a raid, we’re only seeing two dimensions of that story,” Garcia said. “That missing part of the story is something most people don’t think about, and with this play, I’m trying to add that other dimension of how families are affected by the raids.”
Garcia said the name of the play is based on the poem “The Tears of Things,” written by Virgil, a Roman poet. In his poem, Virgil describes the carnage and destruction left behind after the battle of Troy. Garcia said he sees the same damage left behind by the immigration authorities after raids.
“There are times where some of the law enforcement officials act like they are at war with the people that they are arresting,” Garcia said.
“Part of the results from this is destruction of families; they are the carnage of this war.”
Luis Avila, 27, an ASU alumnus and director of the play, said immigration reform would solve the problem.
“The separation of families is affecting many kids who are at most times U.S. citizens,” Avila said. “We need to fix the immigration system so that we won’t allow this to happen anymore.”
Dulce Juarez, 23, a higher education graduate student, played the role of Lisa Hamlen, a school counselor who helps the children after their father is arrested.
Juarez said her role was based on accounts from a Phoenix high-school counselor. She said she believes the play sends a message about human rights.
“We need to look at it as a human rights issue and not get caught up with the legal aspect of it,” Juarez said. “I understand the importance of following laws, but we have to have compassion and sensitivity for these children.”
Marina Acosta, 20, a sustainability junior, said the play accurately portrays the feelings of many members in the community who find themselves in similar situations.
“The climate of fear and insecurity is evident in the play and I’m so glad that there are people who are willing to expose these injustices in order to make a change.”
The theater’s next production, “The Mighty Vandals,” is about the 1951 championship of an undefeated high school basketball team from Miami, Ariz.
The production takes place three years before the U.S. Supreme Court ended racial segregation in public schools. The team of predominantly Mexican-American teenagers struggles when it tries to leave Miami to make it big.
Reach the reporter at griselda.nevarez@asu.edu.
