Benny's immigration story hit particularly close to home for star Santiago Rosas, who grew up in Arizona, the state that passed the most stringent anti-immigrant laws in U.S. history, including a now-defunct 2010 measure that required police officers to check immigration papers during traffic stops.

"I have that background. I'm able to connect, and understand, and relate to a lot of the struggle," says Rosas, who is Mexican American.

Although the conversation about immigration in California tends to focus on Mexican immigrants, Rosas and Iturriaga say it's significant that Benny is Salvadorian. Not only do Salvadorian immigrant stories rarely get screen time, but the U.S. military's involvement in the country's bloody civil war is an example of how foreign policy often creates the very conditions that force people to flee their homelands. The civil war in El Salvador lasted over 12 years, and left 75,000 confirmed dead and countless more missing. After U.S. intervention, the country descended into years of instability that its 2001 earthquake only made worse.

"The American dream exists because they created a nightmare somewhere else," says Iturriaga, adding that inhumane treatment isn't a symptom solely of the Trump administration.

"In the U.S., I think there tends to be historical amnesia. But Obama deported a ton of people," says Iturriaga. "And since the early 1900s, what happens at the border has been very problematic. So I feel like it's something we need to be talking about, and we need to address why it's happening."

Rosas' portrayal of Benny also illustrates the ways marginalized people get thrust into political battles while trying to live their day-to-day lives. In one particularly poignant scene, Benny faces off in a spontaneous debate against the incumbent sheriff, a slick talker who, like many Bay Area politicians, couches her pro-prison policies in progressive talking points. Benny gets tripped up in the debate, exemplifying one of his challenges throughout the season: learning how to advocate for himself and speak his truth.

"At the heart of it, [The North Pole is] art and a call to action," says Rosas. "We want people to see that if you want to change the conditions of the violent immigration system, we have to change the narrative. We want the audience to be bold and apologetic."