Mexican-born filmmaker fears losing hope if DACA thrown out

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Under a string of golden street lights, the directions roll off Jorge Xolalpa's tongue interchangeably in English and Spanish as he paces the sidewalk with a cameraman by his side.

The actors don’t miss a beat, and crewmembers prop lighting on top of a nearby dumpster to give the scene the glow the 33-year-old award-winning Mexican-born filmmaker has etched in his mind. Moments like these are precious to Xolalpa, whose eyes dart with excitement as he describes his love of film.

Despite his rising fame, Xolalpa, like hundreds of thousands of others, is mired in a years-long battle over whether he can have legal working papers in the United States. Should the courts end the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, he said he’ll find a way to make a living and won’t stop making movies. But, he said, he would reel from the loss of stability in the country where he grew up and has made his home.

“The biggest thing I would lose would be hope,” he said.

For many of the 600,000 immigrants in this position, it isn't easy to remain hopeful. A U.S. appeals court recently left the program in limbo by returning a hotly contested case about it to a lower court for review. As the country heads into midterm elections that could put Republicans in control of Congress, that decision has ramped up pressure on Democrats to pass legislation to protect these immigrants.

While the Obama administration program has brought educational opportunities, job prospects and benefits such as driver's licenses and insurance for the immigrants, long-term security has proven elusive. Texas and other states sued over DACA four years ago, and prospects worsened when U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen last year ruled that the program was illegal, allowing it to continue...