Comedy Show Aims to Fundraise Financial Aid for Undocumented College Students

For the last 24 years, Texas has provided in-state tuition to undocumented students through the Texas Dream Act, which was signed into law by former Texas Gov. Rick Perry in 2001. On June 4, a lawsuit from President Donald Trump's administration challenging the policy was upheld by federal Judge Reed O’Connor, abruptly invalidating the Texas Dream Act and jeopardizing the education of 57,000 students statewide, plus at least 197,000 students under the age of 18 ahead of their high school graduation.

Dallas College is one of the most popular institutions for international students in the region, with seven campuses across North Texas. Latino comic Luis Juarez recalls taking his core classes at the Cedar Valley campus before embarking on a career in comedy. He says his time at the school inspired him to “pursue a life of learning,” and he hates the thought of young students not getting the same formative experience he did.

“It's a sad thing because it's hard to think that it isn't something that can be racially motivated to deter people from going to school and learning,” Juarez says. “I feel like they fear smart workers, because smart workers organize. The last thing that the wealthy elite want is for the working class to organize, and I feel like this is just another part of keeping people from gaining their own power as a group.”

With that in mind, Juarez decided to organize a benefit comedy show at the Latino Cultural Center on Sept. 19. The show aims to raise money for “Dreamer” students who lost their scholarships, grants or financial aid as a result of the ruling.

Juarez will headline a bill that includes Lilli Lopez, Jesus Castillo and CAIN, all Latin comics we recently wrote about in our cover story about the burgeoning scene of underground Spanish-language comedy. Juarez’s show is hosted and co-presented by Paulos Feerow, who runs Dallas-based comedy promotion company For The City.

“It’s already tough coming into a new country,” Juarez says. “Why make it harder on those people? I feel like the most American thing that we can do is to help the people that need our help, especially if you’re already here. To me, it feels un-American to not want to help those people. It’s supposed to be a melting pot.”

If the event goes well, Juarez is considering launching a “laugh it forward” collective with his fellow comedy collaborators. This collective would organize regular one-off events like this to raise money and awareness for the causes that need it most. Admission to the Sept. 19 show is free, but donations will be accepted towards the fund that will go directly to the students who were impacted by the ruling.

“You can't solve everything,” Juarez says. “But this is a small thing that we can have some sort of control over.”