In the Trump era, TV and liberal media always seem to want to talk about immigration. Of course, they never seem to know the difference between legal and illegal immigration, so it usually comes off as nothing more than bashing Trump and border laws. Based on the Epic Magazine collection of stories with the same name, the Apple TV+ series Little America is sadly another example of a show being political at the expense of good characters.
The series, which debuted January 17, is an anthology drama that follows eight different people and their experiences with America, immigration, and finding themselves. Since these episodes closely adapt real-life stories, they range from as far back as the 1970s to around present day.
Unfortunately, those times still include spotlighting illegal immigrants and how bad deportations are. The first episode “The Manager” kicks things off with precocious 12-year-old Kabir (Eshan Inamdar) being forced to manage his father’s hotel after his Indian parents are deported. He’s so heart-broken about it that when meeting First Lady Laura Bush (Sherilyn Fenn) during a National Spelling Bee (the episode takes place in 2003), he asks her to help bring his parents home. She brushes him off.
Laura Bush: Congratulations, everybody. I saw some of the words that you spelled, and I know I could never spell those words. You are all so very impressive. Why don’t we go around the circle and you could tell me your name and where you’re from? Let’s start with you. It’s okay, honey. Just-What’s your name?
Kabir: Kabir. Kabir Jha.
Laura Bush: Well, hello, Kabir. Where are you from?
Kabir: “Dear Ms. First Lady Laura Bush, it is a great honor to be here with you, but I must ask for you to help me. My parents have both been sent back to India while they are awaiting asylum here in the United States. They have already been gone for more than a year and I miss them. And they are good people, you must believe me. And, please, I know you are a good woman. Can you please help me get them back? Sincerely, Kabir Jha.”
Laura Bush: Dear, I’m so sorry you’re going through this.
Kabir: Can you help me?
Laura Bush: Well, you see, these things, they’re very complicated. And they just sometimes take a long time.
Kabir: That’s what everyone says.
Laura Bush: Why don’t you write a letter to my office? I’m very sorry, Kabir.
The second episode, “The Jaguar,” goes even further by making the main character an illegal immigrant herself. Teenager Marisol (Jearnest Corchado) lives with her brother and mother in a garage since they came illegally from Mexico with no papers. Their facilities are terrible as their landlord mocks that if they want changes they could always “call the police.” She tries out for the local squash team only to get new shoes and, when she excels at the sport, she even fears that she could probably never go further without a proper I.D. It’s all about feeling bad for her even though her family broke the law.
Even though Donald Trump is not present or even referenced in the show, reviewers also can’t help but try to use the stories to criticize the president. The Washington Post notes how executive producer Lee Eisenberg approached the magazine about its stories three years ago based on “his desire to do something on immigration in the wake of Donald Trump’s election as president.”
The Daily Beast comments that while the series may “resist” addressing Trump policies directly, any optimistic perspective from the show “is a far more generous depiction than the country actually merits.” Deadline even first described the show back in 2018 as going “beyond the headlines to look at the funny, romantic, heartfelt, inspiring and unexpected lives of immigrants in America, at a time when their stories are more relevant than ever.”
However, not every story is coated with a criticism of the border laws. For example, the episodes “The Cowboy” and “The Baker” feature characters who move to America to attend universities and work to assimilate and live out their American dreams in addition to holding on to their native cultures. Another episode, “The Rock,” follows an Iranian immigrant who simply wants to own his own American property. While these characters face obstacles, they don’t subvert laws or paint American laws as victimizers.
It’s clear that one can tell inspirational stories about immigration without commenting on the border laws. It’s also clear that some people can’t resist telling them unless they’re used to get back at Trump. After all, this show’s existence seems predicated on the Trump administration, and some of their stories are determined to equate legal immigration with illegal immigration. As we edge closer to the next election, I fear this will get a lot worse before it gets better.
