With Trump’s inauguration around the corner, Florida Studio Theatre had a panel of immigrants tell their stories.
Ramon Lopez
Original Air Date: Jan. 10, 2024
Host: Immigration and immigrants have become political and emotional punching bags. A forum at Florida Studio Theatre in Sarasota put the spotlight on the human angle. Ramon Lopez reports.
Ramon Lopez: Florida Studio Theatre Thursday night conducted a forum on the complexity of immigration. The event relates to the currently running Heart Sellers play by Lloyd Suh, which delves into immigration, cultural identity, miscommunication and friendship. Poignant and humorous, it follows two young Asian immigrants new to America. Inspired by the Hart-Cellar Act of 1965, the play sheds light on the impact of the law, which fundamentally revolutionized U.S. immigration policy. The law repealed quotas restricting Asian immigration.
Immigration is a hot-button issue as Donald Trump returns to the White House. His mass deportation plans could be a major blow to Florida’s economy, as he wants to halt immigration and many types of work visas. Not only will the agriculture industry take a hit, but construction will too.

Moderator Kate Alexander, r., panelists Regnier, Sanchez, Kim and Eger. Photo: Lopez
The forum was moderated by Kate Alexander, an actress, director and educator at Florida Studio Theatre. She provides the point of the play and the forum.
Kate Alexander: This play, our play, this talk, is to take away some of those masks and those myths. This colorful palette is what makes up America. We are not a homogenized nation.
RL: The panelists included Larry Eger, who serves as the area’s elected public defender. Born in Chicago, both parents are Jewish refugees from Russia and Hungary.
A child of privilege, Doctor Eddy Regnier was born in Port-au-Prince, and is a naturalized U.S. citizen. A psychotherapist, he went from a prison camp in his native Haiti to New York City in the dead of winter with his grandmother and mother.
Dr. Alejandro Sanchez, a trauma-focused psychologist, has a similar story. As a child, he and his family escaped Cuba in a small boat, settling in Miami in a neighborhood 70% Latino.
Michelle Kim, who is Korean-American, is performing in the Heart Sellers play, and was born and raised in Los Angeles by immigrant parents.
The forum delved into the price paid by immigrants and discusses what they bring to America. Psychological issues and legal ramifications were probed by the panelists. Dr. Regnier said his mother and grandmother felt like strangers in a strange land.
Eddy Regnier: When she arrived to this country, I don’t think we’ve ever experienced racism of color because we were living in a privileged environment, but she quickly became very depressed. And I remember the rest of her life after two years in America, she just had no will to do anything. This is a woman who spoke seven or eight languages fluently, who was incredibly well educated, and suddenly realized she could do nothing. It really is very, very difficult to climb from that abyss, which maybe why so many immigrants work so hard. You can just focus and work. My mother worked three jobs, and she didn’t have to deal with it. My grandmother did not have that ability, so she suffered.
RL: Michelle Lee said her parents were stoic.
Michelle Lee: Grew up in LA, so there is a huge Korean population there. But my parents are very much, continue the culture of not talking about mental health, and I never saw my parents cry.
RL: Public Defender Larry Egers said his mother and grandmother also suffered:
Larry Egers: I see it constantly and so, I know the stresses and now that you’re bringing it up, I’m reminiscing on the fact that my grandmother went through electroshock therapy, my mother had suffered from depression. Now was it because they were depressed people or was it their immigrant status? I’ll never know.
RL: Dr. Sanchez said work was everything for his parents.
Alejandro Sanchez: They had a different value system, where putting on the table and working was seen as a priority, and talking about your feelings, acknowledging that you were struggling, wasn’t something that was very common. In Cuba, they call it “depression is only for the rich people,” you don’t have the luxury to be depressed. That’s something that I heard a lot growing up in Miami.
RL: Larry Egers handles many legal cases for immigrants and doesn’t like the negative name-calling.
LE: Referring to immigrants as these dangerous, evil people — And when you just simply look at the numbers, the statistics, first of all, anybody who calls someone illegal is offensive .
People are not illegal. They can be undocumented. And they’re here for a reason. And usually for good reasons. As were my grandparents. So, that’s offensive. But the idea of labeling them as being this one person said, bad hombres. You will find that in my dealings with criminal justice, the immigrant population are probably some of the most law abiding people because they want to be as unnoticed as possible. They’re here for one reason and one reason only, and that is economic opportunity.
RL: Dr. Sanchez exclusively spoke Spanish at home, but learned English anyway.
AS: I remember I didn’t learn English until I essentially went to school for the first time in this country. I learned a little bit of English through watching music videos on MTV and VH1, back when they had music videos on those channels. And, watching reruns of All in the Family and Green’s Company, that’s how I learned English. But it wasn’t until I got to school that I was able to really speak it. And I was quite delayed. I was the last kid in my class to learn his ABCs.
RL: Dr. Regnier said listening and learning about immigration will help stop fear of the so-called “other”.
ER: Ask intelligent and kind questions because you’ll get answers. The answers may make you feel uncomfortable, but at least if you know what the issues are, you know how you can respond in the digital world in an appropriate manner to listen and to listen well.
RL: The League of Women Voters of Manatee County will hold a zoom teleconference on January 13th, 12 Noon to 1PM, on Immigration, the Law and Florida. Immigration policy and Federal and Florida law are an ever changing maze. Senate Bill 1718 covers over a dozen policy areas that target Floridians without a documented immigration status. This program will cover immigrant laws and how they have and will in the future impact Florida. More information here.
This is Ramon Lopez for WSLR News.
WSLR News aims to keep the local community informed with our 1/2 hour local news show, quarterly newspaper and social media feeds. The local news broadcast airs on Wednesdays and Fridays at 6pm.