Dream Destroyed

Summary:
Dream Destroyed (formerly The Next Dream) is a new documentary centered on more than 1.3 million Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders and their 350,000-plus U.S.-born children who have lived in the United States for decades. Following the 2024 election, the Trump Administration pledged to cancel the TPS program—a critical source of humanitarian relief for individuals from countries destabilized by war and natural disasters since the 1990s. Dream Destroyed chronicles the fight of these families to remain together, detailing their ongoing struggles to maintain employment, healthcare, and access to higher education.

Watch Dream Destroyed Excerpt

About Dream Destroyed

Dream Destroyed (formerly The Next Dream) is a new documentary centered on the more than 1.3 million Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders and their 350,000-plus U.S.-born children who have lived in this country for decades. The film chronicles their fight to protect their families from deportation and separation as they struggle to maintain their jobs, healthcare, and access to higher education.

Since 2018, the Boston Experimental Theatre Company (BETC), through its Dialogue of Civilizations program, has partnered with the Massachusetts TPS Committee (MA TPS). Together, they utilize drama and storytelling to advocate for keeping TPS families united and to raise awareness of the immense challenges TPS holders face.

In 2018, BETC and MA TPS developed the play The Last Dream, inspired by the theatre of Bertolt Brecht and Augusto Boal. This story, created and performed by the U.S.-born children of TPS families, toured nationally with performances at the U.S. Congress, Boston City Hall, Harvard University, Boston University, and the Imagination Stage in Maryland. To amplify these voices and reach a broader audience, the movie The Last Dream was produced in 2019 alongside the Boston Neighborhood Network (Steve Marx, Laura Bean, Edward Slattery). The title reflects a recurring theme from family workshops: the shared hope among children and parents that their last dream each night would be to remain together. The film won the 2020 National Award for Best Community Media Production for Activism and received a 43rd Boston/New England Emmy nomination.

Following the 2024 Presidential election, rising uncertainty within immigrant communities prompted us to produce a new documentary as an educational tool for the National TPS Alliance. Initially titled The Next Dream, the project aims to provide a deeper understanding of Temporary Protected Status and the families affected by its potential termination. However, in response to feedback from TPS families and the devastating impact of recent administration and Supreme Court decisions—including the termination of status for many—we updated the title to Dream Destroyed to reflect the stark reality facing more than 1.3 million families nationwide.

Dream Destroyed is a 45-minute documentary featuring professional and amateur footage from an eight-year struggle to secure permanent residency for TPS holders. Currently a work in progress, the film is screened at TPS campaigns nationwide, followed by panel discussions with the National and local TPS Alliance and committees. These events educate the public on the legal and humanitarian realities facing TPS families and showcase how U.S. citizens can support their cause. We believe the fight for our immigrant communities is essential to the preservation of democracy in the United States—the country we call home. Click here to watch an excerpt from Dream Destroyed.