Travis Silcox wishes everybody knew an AB 540 the way she does.
Silcox directs the English department at Sacramento City College, a job that puts her in close contact with youths who call themselves AB 540s.
The name honors a 2002 state law that allows undocumented youths to pay in-state tuition at state colleges if they grew up here and graduated from California high schools
Inspired by the stories of her students, Silcox has made a 10-minute fictional film, "AB 540." It debuts Sunday at the annual "A Place Called Sacramento" Film Festival.
"Unless you were to ask these kids and they were to tell you," Silcox said of her students, "you would never know they're undocumented."
Many have lived here since they were small, and their speech, outlook and behavior are as American as the next kid, Silcox said.
But inside, they grapple with a fear that unless a path opens for them to seek legal residency, they will be forever trapped in an underground existence.
"I've had those kinds of conversations in my office with my students who were in tears," Silcox said.
California's community college system, the world's largest at 2.6 million students, in 2006 estimated that 12,000 to 16,000 of its students might be undocumented.
The California State University system doesn't have an estimate. The University of California estimated in March that it had several hundred.
Gissela, one student who inspired Silcox, is the daughter of parents who work multiple jobs. "I want to be a teacher and open up a charter school for physically disabled children," said Gissela, who asked that her last name not be used. She is 19, and has been here since she was 3 months old.
Political leaders continue to debate what to do about undocumented kids, who are concentrated in California.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has until midnight tonight to sign or veto the California DREAM Act, a bill that would allow AB 540 students to apply for noncompetitive student financial aid. If he takes no action, the bill automatically will become law.
The governor vetoed a version of the law last year.
The state college systems plan to appeal at the California Supreme Court a state appeals court finding this month that AB 540 is unfair to out-of-state students who have to wait a year before paying in-state tuition.
For several years, bipartisan federal lawmakers – including presidential contenders John McCain and Barack Obama – have supported the federal DREAM Act, as the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act is known.
The bill, which has failed to win enough federal support, would allow undocumented kids who've grown up in the United States to earn legal status if they finish college or serve in the U.S. military.
Silcox said she sees no public good in punishing youths who know no other country, are eager to work, pay taxes and be citizens – and whose parents' labor Americans have taken advantage of for years, she said.
"If you ask me how to solve illegal immigration, I will say that I don't know," Silcox said. "But it's time to end this level of denial. How do Americans think all that (food) got put together on their plates? How do they think that roofer was able to put that roof on for that kind of money?"
The film "AB 540" dramatizes the emotional roller coaster of Socorro and Javier, fictional students at City College. The two are played by students Karla Gonzalez and Victor Hugo Perez Zavala, neither of whom is undocumented.
Silcox didn't want to expose real AB 540 students by casting them as leads, but they do appear as extras.
The film opens with Socorro and Javier chatting about parents who are strict and traditional and then drifts into the pros and cons of Javier's purchase of a fake driver's license on Franklin Boulevard.
Later, a fictional professor played by Sacramento actress Ruby Sketchley encourages Socorro to transfer to a four-year college and hands her a list of private scholarships, which surprises Socorro.
Sketchley said she was unaware of the obstacles that AB 540 students face, and has become an advocate for their cause after being impressed with their courage.
In the film, an argument erupts as Socorro helps her mother clean a home, revealing Socorro's dueling emotions.
She lashes out at her mother for bringing her to the United States, but then catches herself and expresses gratitude toward her parents.
The film climaxes when Javier suffers a mishap as Socorro rushes to get to an exam on time.
Perez Zavala, who play Javier, said he took to the role naturally. He knows lots of undocumented kids, he said.
"This story," he said, "well, it could almost be true."
Call The Bee's Susan Ferriss, (916) 321-1267.
