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Without warning or fanfare, Maritza is deported in the fifth episode, Minority Deport.
Then Maritza vanishes, too.
Because the government took no measures to take care of her, friends stepped in to help her.
Her family remains in Colombia.
Youre handcuffed and youre sitting there with an agent.
On a plane, you imagine going on a trip or visiting your family, everything beautiful.
I felt all of that by proxy.
I was acting out what my parents have gone through.
Immigration detention has been on showrunner Jenji Kohans mind since she opened the writers room for the sixth season.
But by allowing these stories into our lives and homes, perspectives changed.
This isnt a story about statistics or policy or about these foreign people that we dont know.
The next time viewers see her, she is being walked to the airplane in handcuffs.
We wanted viewers to feel the shock of that, for the abruptness to be jarring.
Dianes activism and story is an inspiration to us and certainly influenced us.
But it wasnt just Guerreros life story that made an impact on Kohans team.
We took a bus and drove two hours to the most depressing place in the world.
They have no right to an attorney.
They have no right to a phone call.
After the tour, the writers met with detainees behind a glass partition.
When we left there, we all had migraines, Paiz recalled about the five-hour visit.
We all got sick.
But the research continued.
It was like,If Carolinas not crying, the storys not working.
At one point, the writers room board had 20 potential immigration story lines they were considering.
A lot of these stories were overwhelming in their tragedy and we wanted to find the right balance.
It feels way too close, Cruz said.
There are a lot of us that dont talk about things because we want to protect our families.
Its scary to believe that this could happen to someone you love.
When the whole family-separation issue came to light, I had trouble sleeping, said the Colombian-born Arroyave.
Carlas story provoked one of the biggest fights in the writers room.
I was one of the people who was saying this was already devastating, Paiz said.
I was like,oh God, thats a sign.
Fine, youre all right.
She trips and breaks her ankle and the man abandons her in the desert.
Viewers never see her again.
Its purposefully vague, but I think it feels horrifyingly bleak, Paiz said.
Arroyave agrees: I was grateful that they took it to this ultimate place.
It was right to end in devastation.
Its not as effective, I think.
They did leave it open, but it doesnt look good for her.
The energy in the room was so hard.
I didnt have to push too much.
I felt it very deeply.
Sometimes the irony is that fiction can be more informative and powerful than reality.
I appreciated so much that the writers asked for my opinion.
Within the dysfunctionality of it all, the choice is beautiful, and a bit poetic as well.
Were also ignoring history and the role of the United States as to why these people are here.
I hope what this season is doing is moving us in the right direction.
We are all so worried, but as writers, this is what we can do.
We can write about it and maybe that starts a conversation.
