Posted : Thu, 06 Mar 2008 17:13:50 GMT
Author : Nickelodeon
Category : PressRelease
NEW YORK, March 6 /PRNewswire/ -- There are more than three million American-born kids of undocumented immigrants living in the United States. The kids are Americans citizens, but their parents are not. The Emmy award-winning series Nick News with Linda Ellerbee delves into the lives of Mexican-American kids trapped in a political situation they didn't cause and can't fix - in I'm American! They are Not!, premiering Sunday, Mar. 16, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on Nickelodeon.
"These kids can't be forced to leave the U.S., but their parents can be. Imagine living in fear of your parents being caught and deported," asks Ellerbee. "Or your parents get deported, but you stay - without parents. Or your parents get deported and you go with them, leaving your home, your country and the only life you have ever known. Kids, American citizens, are dealing with these issues every day."
In I'm American! They are Not!, viewers meet a young girl, an American-born citizen whose parents are living illegally in the U.S. She and her brothers and sister live life in the shadows. "Sometimes when I'm at school, I start worrying about my parents," she says. "What if they take them and I get home and won't find my parents? If my parents were to be deported from this country, I would not know what to do and how to manage my life."
As the U.S. Immigration and Customs enforcement (ICE) increases efforts to round up and deport undocumented immigrants, many homes and work sites are being raided. In the special, Miriam Calderon, who works for the National Council of La Raza, which commissioned the report Paying the Price: The Impact of Immigration Raids on America's Children, speaks about the disruptions immigration raids are causing in families. The special also features Kelly Nantel, press secretary for ICE, who explains that her job is to enforce the laws, and that ICE recommends that people who are breaking the law should go back to their home country.
Next we meet Iven and Noe, brothers whose parents have been caught and deported. Their parents have taken Iven and Noe back to Viscaino, Mexico, with them. The brothers miss their home in San Jose, California. Iven says, "School here is hard for me because I don't know how to write or read in Spanish. In the United States I used to get good grades like A's, and now I'm getting grades like C's and D's."
Lastly, viewers meet 13-year-old Paola, 14-year-old Vanessa, and 17-year-old Nahun, three siblings whose parents were deported to Mexico last year, while they remained in the U.S. without them. A family friend acts as their legal guardian; however, the kids are living by themselves. Nahum says, "We are living the American dream, but now it's getting harder and harder because my parents aren't here. At 16, I took on a role of an adult all of a sudden without warning." Vanessa says, "I just had to take on so many responsibilities. When my mom was here, she would wake us up and now nobody's gonna' wake us up. We gotta' do it all on our own."
Nick News, is now in its 17th year is the longest-running kids' news show in television history, and has built its reputation on the respectful and direct way it speaks to kids about the important issues of the day. Over the years, Nick News has received more than 20 Emmy nominations and numerous Emmy wins. Most recently, in 2007, "Private Worlds: Kids and Autism" won the Emmy for Outstanding Children's Programming. In 1994, the entire series, Nick News, won the Emmy for Outstanding Children's Programming. In 1998, "What Are You Staring At?" a program about kids with physical disabilities, won the Emmy for Outstanding Children's Programming. In 2002, "Faces of Hope: The Kids of Afghanistan," won the Emmy for Outstanding Children's Programming. In 2004, two Nick News Specials, "The Courage to Live: Kids, South Africa and AIDS" and "There's No Place Like Home," a special about homeless kids in America, were both nominated for the Outstanding Children's Programming Emmy. In 2005, it won the Emmy for Outstanding Children's Programming for its show, "From the Holocaust to the Sudan." Nick News, produced by Lucky Duck Productions, is also the recipient of three Peabody Awards, including a personal award given to Ellerbee for her coverage for kids of the President Clinton investigation. The series has also received two Columbia duPont Awards and more than a dozen Parents' Choice Awards.
Nickelodeon, in its 28th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in more than 96 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for more than 13 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. . Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071010/NYW106AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Nickelodeon
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