With all the talk surrounding U.S. immigration reform, few people in the media, elected offices or public square have had the opportunity to look intimately at the people immigration legislation affects. "Los Jets," the first docu-series from NUVOtv's Nu Point of View franchise, aims to fix this by providing an in-depth look at an all-Latino North Carolina high school soccer team. The players deal with discrimination and their or their loved ones' potential deportation while simultaneously fighting to succeed as average American teens.

"The media has done little and is doing very little to put a human face on the immigration issue," Mark Landsman, "Los Jets" creator, said in an interview with Latin Post. "They opt to tell stories that keep immigrants polarized and floating."

"Los Jets," produced by Jennifer Lopez and Benny Medina's Nuyorican Productions, brings the immigration debate to Silver City, North Carolina. The rural town saw its population of 5,000 grow from 2 percent Latinos to over 55 percent in just 15 years, according to a news release.

Landsman, who also directs and executive produces the series, learned of the town's soccer team through an NPR interview with Paul Cuadros, the team's coach. About 14 years ago, the former investigative reporter came to Siler City to study immigration. Upon seeing the need for the Latino kids to have a constructive activity, he urged the school board to create a high school soccer team. Despite much opposition, Cuadros got his wish and decided to coach the team. In 2004 Los Jets won the state championship. 

"Los Jets" profiles the boys, all sons of immigrants, as they strive to win another championship, which to them represents not only victory, but proof of worth in a community that sometimes looks down on them.

"There are millions [of undocumented immigrants] here that contribute to society, have been here for years contributing to our economy and are no different than any other group of immigrants that have come to America since the dawn of this country," Landsman said. "This is who we are. We are a country built on backs of immigrants."

The members of Los Jets may embody this better than anyone. Many of the players have big dreams but find obstacles exponentially heightened due to a lack of documentation.

According to Landsman, many of these boys face "99 percent" of the same struggles as teenage citizens, but despite their American lives and American dreams, the law says they are not American.

"The difference is these boys wonder, 'How am I getting around? I don't have a license,'" Landsman explained. "They're interested in going to the military to fund college education or to fight for the country. Yet, 'I can't even have a recruiter meet with me because of policy. When I graduate 12th grade, I'm gonna face a wall?'"

Still, the Los Jets players fight for a bright future both on and off the field. Some of them boast great soccer skills, good grades and popularity, but they still fear the elephant in the room, also known as "archaic policy," according to Landsman.

"To be smacked with this policy that's obviously ... not useful to this country in any way -- that's what sets them apart from other people," he continued. "These boys consider themselves American, and they are. The only thing that separates [them from U.S. citizens] is a piece of paper, and that is unjust."

"Los Jets" adds intimacy and a human touch to a debate often minimized in a black-and-white way to statistics. The docu-series does this by obtaining honest, open interviews with the players and their families.

"We allowed them to tell their story, as opposed to coming in with ideas of what their story is and putting our own spin on it," Landsman said of the players' candidness. "We came in with the agenda of giving these boys and this team a platform to tell their story. No narrator. No omniscient voice to mediate. It's a pure experience from the boys themselves. That's how trust is gained. This is your story, and we're just a vehicle to help tell it."

"Los Jets" also brings to reality some Americans' nightmare: the Latino community becoming dominant. In Siler City, this has already happened; Cuadros reveals in the first episode that Latinos represent 68 percent of the student population. The high school principal also argues that the increased number of Latino residents helped the faltering community flourish, and as a result, Latinos are the future of the community.

Still, with the recent influx of Central American children entering the U.S. illegally and the immigration debate being what it is, this part of the story -- in which a growing Latino population is a benefit -- is seldom told.

"We can't just turn a blind eye to what this country is," Landsman said. "For me as storyteller -- I'm not a politician, I'm not a businessman -- the only way I can contribute as a storyteller is by humanizing issues, telling these stories and focusing on successful, positive aspects of it."

Watch Los Jets make their journey to a potential state championship, as well as acceptance in a country where they lack papers, starting July 16 at 10 p.m. on NUVOtv.

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 Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @ScharHar.