Enrique Morones accepts it was difficult for him to perform in front of a camera what he does in real life every single day.
Morones, who is founder and director of Border Angels, an immigrants-rights organization, is one of the main characters in the feature film Detained in the Desert, which screens for free on Friday, Feb. 21st, at 5:30 p.m., at MiraCosta College’s Oceanside Campus.

“It was very different from being on the several documentaries I’ve been on,” Morones said, who portrays Enrique Martinez, in honor of the late San Diego human rights activist Roberto Martinez. “For a documentary, you just do what you do normally. For a film like this, you have to act, learn the lines. I admire actors even more now, after knowing all they have to do.”

Detained in the Desert parallels the experiences of Sandi, a second-generation Latina, and Lou Becker, an inflammatory talk show host, whose lives converge in the Arizona desert. After rebelliously refusing to show a cop her ID, Sandi is headed toward immigrant detention. Meanwhile, Lou is kidnapped by siblings whose brother was killed in a hate crime inspired by Lou’s radio show. As their lives cross in the desert, Sandi and Lou come to understand the plight of immigrants.

After the screening, the film’s executive producer Josefina Lopez, who has produced and written other films, such as Real Women Have Curves, will join Morones for a Q&A session.

Lopez, who lived several years in San Diego during her years as a student at UCSD, said that San Diego residents are more aware of immigration issues because of the region’s proximity to the border.

“But I also know it is a very conservative town,” said Lopez, who for many years lived as an undocumented immigrant after moving from San Luis Potosi with her family as a girl.

For Francisco C. Rodriguez, superintendent and president of MiraCosta Community College District, is important to expose students to social issues like immigration.

“The college seeks to create opportunities for dialogue and greater understanding of societal issues, including the current plight of undocumented immigrants,” Rodriguez said. “With the current national debate on immigration reform, presenting this film to the public is educationally purposeful.”

Lopez said that the idea for the film, which was first a stage play, came to her after spending several days with Morones during one of Border Angels’ Marcha Migrante, which each February makes a journey to promote immigrants’ rights through different regions.

Lopez said that it was easy to work with Morones in the film because “he has no ego. He’s a very noble person.”

Detained in the Desert was made as a way to raise funds for Border Angels, she said.

Morones, who recently had a Marcha Migrante through Baja California, said that he hopes to have a special screening for Latino members of Congress in Washington, D.C.

The Detained in the Desert screening is part of MiraCosta College’s Latino Film Series, which highlights films with Latino topics, since the college is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HIS), a federal designation where a school has to meet several criteria, including having at least a 25 percent Hispanic undergraduate full-time-equivalent student enrollment.

As part of the Latino Film Series, the documentary Latino Beyond Reel will screen on March 21st in the concert hall of the Oceanside campus.

For more information on the free screening, visit www.miracosta.edu.