Ezekiel Pacheco First DACA Recipient to Lead Hollywood Film

Within our community, we’ve seen many Latinx actors and actresses rise to fame and make their mark for representation in the industry. Mexican American actor Ezekiel Pacheco is one of the industry’s rising stars and has made history as the first DACA recipient to lead in a major Hollywood film. Recently we’ve seen progress in representation such as Liza Colón-Zayas becoming the first Latina actress to win an Emmy Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for The Bear and actress Zoe Saldaña becoming the first Dominican American to receive a Golden Globe for her role in Emilia Perez. These wins are a testament to the strides Latinxs in the entertainment industry continue to make, especially considering the declines we’ve seen in Latinx portrayals in television and film. Pacheco is one of the Latinx voices making moves toward more visibility in mainstream media. In the U.S. the total undocumented population increased to about 11.7 million in 2023, according to the Center for Migration Studies yet representation in Hollywood remains rare.

Pacheco stars as Nico in At the Gates, a thriller echoing the struggles of undocumented immigrants in the United States. Nico is the 17-year-old son of Ana Ibarra (Vanessa Benavente), a Salvadoran housekeeper who works for the Barris family. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers come to Barrises’ home looking for them, leading the mother and son to hide in the house under restrictions to not wander near windows and spending the night hiding away in the storage space in the basement. Nico soon begins breaking the rules around the house as tensions arise between the families.

“I just wanted to bring a lot of truth to it. We’re very stereotyped in Hollywood. There’s no empathy for us. We’re kind of just seen as ‘the immigrant’. Ana, played by Vanessa Benavente, is beautifully portrayed as well. She reminded me a lot of my mom, a lot of the challenges that we go through in this life. It’s universal because it’s about a mom and a son. Anyone can relate to it.” Pacheco told ABC News.

Pacheco was born in the town of Ayutla de los Libres in Guerrero, Mexico but was raised in Watts, a Los Angeles neighborhood, after being brought to the United States as an infant. The actor first learned of DACA at the age of 14 in 2012 and earned his degree in business management while under the program. The 27-year-old grew up in a family of street vendors and continues to help his family sell out of their shop, J.K. Ice Cream & Snack Shop in Watts. He didn’t consider acting as a profession until he was 19 years old, despite his love of film and actors like Al Pacino and Denzel Washington. With the release of At the Gates, Pacheco shared with ABC News that he sees the possibility of getting his family out of Watts:

“I’m looking forward to the day I get to buy my parents a house. Give them money and take them away from all their problems. I’m looking forward to that day so they can enjoy the fruits of life.”

At the Gates is available to stream on the Roku Channel.