Oct. 1 screening of award-winning film on child immigrants crossing borders alone

4 p.m. La Jaula de Oro screening; 6 p.m. panel discussion on the recent surge of unaccompanied child immigrants

The Department of Political Science presents the award-winning movie, La Jaula de Oro (The Golden Dream) followed by a panel discussion at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 1, in the University Center Theater. Both events are free and open to the public.

La Jaula de Oro is a fictional account of juveniles making the trip from Central America to the U.S. border. The film has been honored with nine Ariel Awards, the Mexican equivalent of The Oscars; three awards at the Cannes Film Festival and more than 75 international film festival awards.

“The theme of unaccompanied children traveling to the U.S. from Central America is a very relevant issue in the U.S. today, especially in Texas,” said Susan Scarrow, professor and chair of the political science department at UH. “The film was so well-received around the world because the concerns of immigration and struggle resound in many countries. These issues are important to our students too, and are discussed in a wide range of courses on our campus.”

Panelists for the discussion following the film screening include:

• Moderator Jason Casellas, an associate professor in the political science department at UH. He specializes in American politics, with specific research in Latino politics, legislative politics and state and local politics. He is the author of, “Latino Representation in State Houses and Congress.” He is a member of the Texas Advisory Committee of the United States Commission on Civil rights.
• Luis L. Salinas, the producer of La Jaula de Oro and son of UH Lecturer Luis Salinas in the Department of Sociology. The younger Salinas and spent his early years in Houston attending local elementary schools and playing on the UH campus. The rest of his schooling was completed in Mexico City. He has produced 12 movies and is currently working on his next film.
• Lorenzo Cano, associate director of the Center for Mexican American Studies, where he has taught for more than 30 years. He has extensive knowledge in the area of Mexican American affairs with a special interest in the Mexican American urban community, immigration, and U.S.-Mexico relations.
• Cynthia Colbert, CEO at Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, which works in solidarity with migrants and newcomers to develop a comprehensive solution that creates immigrant policies that work for all people.
• Sandra Guerra Thompson, UH Law Foundation Professor and director of the Criminal Justice Institute at the UH Law Center. She has authored numerous articles on criminal law topics such as eyewitness identification and wrongful conviction, immigration crimes, jury discrimination, police interrogations, federal sentencing and asset forfeiture.

WHAT
"Unaccompanied Child Immigrants: Perspectives on the Recent Surge” – La Jaula de Oro screening and panel discussion. Both events are free. The movie is in Spanish with English subtitles.

WHEN:
Oct. 1, 4 p.m. (film screening), 6 p.m. (panel discussion)

WHO:
The event is sponsored by the Department of Political Science and co-sponsored by the Department of Sociology, the Jack J. Valenti School of Communications, the Center for Mexican American Studies, the Center for the Study of the Americas, the Center for International and Comparative Studies and the El Paso Corporation Lecture Series.

WHERE:
University Center Theater, Entrance 1 off Calhoun. For directions and parking information, visit http://www.uh.edu/uc/about_us/directions.html