Summary
Living Undocumented Season 1, Episode 1, “A Prayer in the Night” starts the Netflix series by offering us the harsh realities of the current immigration system in America.
This recap of Netflix Series Living Undocumented Season 1 Episode 1, “A Prayer in the Night” discusses information relevant to the Episode. You can read the full season review by clicking these words.
Episode 1 builds the picture of America’s troubling immigration system and the now villainized ICE. When Donald Trump came to office, he changed the immigration policies immediately. It was not just about catching criminals; it was anyone who was living in the USA undocumented. Hard cogs have been put in place that are staunchly stubborn, barely offering an inch of mercy.
“A Prayer in the Night” introduces us to Luis. In Episode 1 he has to drive his girlfriend Keina’s son Noah to be reunited with his mother, with both of them possibly ordered to be deported. Luis knows the risk of driving to the ICE Detention Centre, but with Noah receiving the order, he has no choice but to carry out a long drive to see off his family and possibly never seem them again.
Unfortunately, his girlfriend’s appeal to stop the deportation is denied.
And then we have Ron and his wife, who have been undocumented in the USA for 17 years. Strangely, Ron has a thriving business and has genuinely embedded himself into the American way of life by only using a tax ID. What worried me is that Ron and his family chose not to reveal their last names, but their faces are pasted all over the episode. Surely it wouldn’t take long for ICE to join the dots.
And finally, we learn of Alejandra, who fled from Mexico after fearing for her life. It took Alejandra two attempts to cross the border, and she has lived in the USA ever since, marrying a military man. This story irked me because her husband voted for Trump — I have no words to express how I feel about that.
Alejandra’s appeal to stop the deportation is also denied.
Each story links to the fact that all these people are not fleeing to America for the ride; they are leaving countries that are too unstable for them to live in. Episode 1 shows us horrifying scenes of dead bodies in the roads, and bombs going off — it’s no wonder that immigrants seek asylum.
As expected, the whole ordeal is tragic but what is clear from Living Undocumented Season 1 Episode 1, “A Prayer in the Night”, is that politically it is a mess and nearly every finger points at the current President.
You can read the recap of the second episode by clicking these words.
