Selena Gomez’s new Living Undocumented docuseries gives voice to immigrants facing deportation

Olivia Harvey

No matter where you stand, we can all agree that it would be extremely jarring to be uprooted from the life you know in America and deported back to a country you may have been too young to even remember leaving. In a new Netflix docuseries called Living Undocumented, executive produced in part by Selena Gomez, eight American families grapple with the reality of deportation, and their faces, names, and stories humanize the polarizing debate that’s played out on the political stage and in our communities.

Premiering on October 2nd, each episode of Living Undocumented gives insight into the day-to-day of an undocumented immigrant—their fears, hopes, dreams, and realities.

Some stories will give us hope. Others show how broken the system is or, at the very least, that U.S. immigration policies have a long way to go.

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I am so humbled to be a part of Netflix’s documentary series Living Undocumented. The immigration issue is more complex than one administration, one law or the story you hear about on the news. These are real people in your community, your neighbors, your friends – they are all part of the country we call home. I can’t wait for you guys to see this and hope it impacts you like it impacted me. Available globally October 2. ❤️

A post shared by Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) on Sep 17, 2019 at 7:10am PDT

Though the series isn’t tied to one administration or law, as Gomez said, it does come in the wake of a July rule blocking asylum seekers from entering the U.S. from Mexico, families still being separated at the border, and a Trump administration that has enacted debilitating rulings against immigration, including ending the DACA program for Dreamers.

Gomez executive produced the show alongside Eli Holzman, Aaron Saidman, her mother Mandy Teefey, Anna Chai, and Sean O’Grady.

You can watch the emotional trailer for Gomez’s docuseries below:

“I knew I wasn’t born here, I just didn’t know that not being born here was something that was dangerous,” says one young woman in the trailer. “And now I have to do everything scared.”

“I wasn’t blessed to be born in the country, but my heart is American,” says another woman.

These are sentiments echoed by Gomez as she talked about the series to The Hollywood Reporter on September 17th.

“I chose to produce this series, Living Undocumented, because over the past few years, the word ‘immigrant’ has seemingly become a negative word,” Gomez said. “My hope is that the series can shed light on what it’s like to live in this country as an undocumented immigrant firsthand, from the courageous people who have chosen to share their stories.”

Living Undocumented will be available to watch on Netflix on October 2nd.