What’s It Like to Be Young and Undocumented? Awkward, Says New Video

A group of undocumented young people have started a video series that highlights the painfully awkward moments of life without papers.

By Jorge Rivas Nov 14, 2011

Often when we have conversations about undocumented young people, we talk about serious subjects like how they’re going to pay for college. But a new video series sheds light on some "painfully awkward" moments that people with papers may not have to ever experience.

In the first video we meet Jesus, a young guy who’s excited about his blind date a bar but when he get’s there he can’t make in to the bar because he doesn’t have a government issued ID.

The videos are being produced by Dreamers Adrift, a group made up of undocumented youth sharing stories of how the DREAM Act could transform their lives through art. They explain the series below:

As undocumented immigrants living in this country, there are many instances in our lives which result in awkwardness not experienced by American citizens. Things that millions of others take for granted, such as driving to the grocery store or the ability to go to a bar to enjoy a nice cold beer after a long hard day at work, can turn into awkward silences at best, or deportation situations at worst.

Their second episode, which is even more painfully awkward, is below.