Mission to convey Latino stories on TV takes a timely twist

By all appearances, Rafael Agustin had been the all-American highschool student — class president, prom king and honor-roll student.

The one hitch: He was in the country illegally.

Agustin discovered his status while applying for college in 1998, before the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program existed.

“I was in shock,” the Ecuador-born writerperformer recalled by phone. “I knew I was an immigrant — I remember a time when I didn’t speak English. But I didn’t know we were undocumented.”

Agustin, now a U.S. citizen who earned his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from the UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television, has channeled that experience and created a series inspired by his life about an immigrant family, tentatively titled “Illegal.”

The series, in development at the CW, is expected to be an hourlong dramedy, an edgy Latino version of “The Wonder Years.”

The announcement came a day after the Trump administration’s decision to dismantle DACA, which has allowed hundreds of thousands of young immigrants to work legally in the United States and given them a temporary reprieve from deportation.

The immigrantrelated series is one of two that “Jane the Virgin” star Gina Rodriguez has in development under an overall deal at CBS TV Studios for her I Can & I Will Productions. (The other, “Have Mercy,” is set up at CBS.)

She and Agustin recently discussed “Illegal.”

What emotions were you feeling when it was announced that Trump was dismantling the DACA program?

I was just devastated. My heart breaks for these young kids who are just trying. America just seems real brutal these days. Everything that I’ve ... thought America stood for has just been destroyed by this administration time and time again.

I work with a lot of undocumented students, and my friends kept texting me: 'What can I do? What can I do?' This was literally 10 hours before our (news) release. ... What we had decided as a group — because I have a strong network of undocumented students who are activists — was to start pushing Congress to pass the DREAM Act again. The only people who can help us at this point is Congress.

Why is it important that this story be told?

Because it’s important to understand the complexities of immigration. When people see a face to these issues, it’s different.

Gina, you’ve made it your mission to tell Latino stories on the screen. What responses did you get to the news about the show?

There was so much excitement and relief that somebody was in their corner. ... When we talk about inclusivity, there are a lot of communities that aren’t being discussed. And the Latino community, we have waves of Latinos doing projects — but do they get exposure? I want there to be such a plethora that you have to name us on multiple hands.

If you could be in a room with Congress, or if you could sit down with DACA opponents, what would you say?

We as a society will be judged by how we treat the weakest and most vulnerable among us. We cannot allow prejudice and fear to get in the way of our American values. It’s just that simple.

It’s just that simple.