Growing up in Northern California, Luis Cortes Romero was an enthusiastic learner and attended a school for gifted students. When his school organized a trip to Europe, Cortes Romero sold chocolates as part of the fundraising. Although he sold more chocolates than anyone in his class, he was disappointed when he found out he couldn’t go. He had no papers, his mother told him. This is how Cortes Romero learned that he was undocumented.
This week, a new documentary looks at Cortes Romero’s journey from disaffected young man to DACA grantee to the first undocumented lawyer to argue before the Supreme Court. “From Here/From There” (De Aquí /De Allá) premieres on PBS on July 9, kicking off the 2024 season of Voces.
DACA, short for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, is a 2012 program started by President Barack Obama which allows young people brought to the U.S. as children who don’t have legal documentation to live and…
