Diane Guerrero’s next big role will align far more closely with her actual life than her con-artist character on Orange Is the New Black does. The actress and activist is set to star in In the Country We Love, an immigration drama based on the deeply honest — and very timely — memoir that she recently co-wrote with bestselling author Michelle Burford. The project will premiere on CBS, Deadline reports, and see Guerrero play a corporate attorney who starts fighting for undocumented immigrants after her own status as the daughter of undocumented immigrants is brought to light. The implications of that revelation will be familiar to anyone who has read the memoir or paid much attention to Guerrero’s career outside of television. Her parents fled to the U.S. during a particularly turbulent period in the history of their native Colombia, overstayed their visas, and worked long hours at menial jobs that allowed them to avoid government surveillance. Their daughter was born in the U.S. before they were eventually discovered and abruptly deported.
Last year Guerrero was named a White House Ambassador for Citizenship and Naturalization after spending much of her adult life fighting for comprehensive immigration reform. Her one-off side hustle as a runway model — walking in Opening Ceremony’s radical alternative beauty pageant at New York Fashion Week — was also a testament to her bravery, positivity, and important pro bono work IRL. Speaking about her experience and the possibility of a Donald Trump presidency last year she said, “Now at least people are listening. They’re willing to address the issues. That’s the important part. So no, when I hear people like that, I don’t get discouraged; I get motivated.” No wonder she was voted Most Optimistic in high school.
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Text Hannah Ongley
Image via Instagram