Grey’s Anatomy never fails to keep up with its own theme of being a little too real, joining in the ranks of shows shedding light on the current climate for DACA recipients with this week’s “Beautiful Dreamer.” It’s far from the first time the show spoke up about undocumented immigrants—many moons ago, in a very early episode, where Izzy risked her job to treat an undocumented immigrant from China, who refused to come inside because of her status. This week, ICE Agent Martin Fields arrived to the nurses’ station where Meredith and Bailey were speaking to each other, letting them know he was there to see one of their surgical interns. In the last two weeks of previews and as the show cut to intro, the camera zoomed in on the group of interns as they headed down the stairs for rounds. The shot immediately draws your eyes to Quadri, in part because of the camera’s focus and in part because her bright red hijab is a deep contrast to the color of their scrubs and the walls behind them, before panning across the rest of the group. I think the setup for this shot—the camera angles and the coloring—were designed to mislead us into assuming the most stereotypical choice today.
We didn’t have to wait as long as we usually might to find out if we were right about something. After the quick cutaway of the intro, Bailey and Meredith were already meeting with Sam Bello in an unoccupied OR. This should have been the obvious choice, as it was announced earlier this year that the actress landed the lead of an upcoming CW reboot. Dr. Bello is a Dreamer, but her work permit and documentation were all up to date. “The only way I could get deported is if I break the law, but I don’t. I don’t speed, I don’t do drugs, I don’t do anything wrong,” she promised them.
The attendings were relieved, but Bello began to panic. She’d had a friend fin high school that had been an intern at a law firm, and ICE dropped in on her at work one day saying they just wanted to talk. Two days later, she was dropped in Mexico City with a bag of clothes and a check from her family that she had no way of cashing. She’d come to the USA when she was two and didn’t speak any Spanish, and after working herself up telling the story, Bello didn’t know how to calm down and think.
Bello would most likely lose her medical accreditation if she ended up back in El Salvador. Her mother had taken her and her sister to Florida when she was just one years old, after seeing her father get shot on their front porch during the war. She worked two jobs, 20 hours a day, to keep them all safe, and Bello refused to go back. While Meredith called DaLuca in for some brainstorming, Bailey set to work on distracting Agent Fields, making up an imaginary surgery of unknown length to derail him. Unfortunately, he was insistent on waiting and refused to reveal the reason that he was there for Dr. Bello.
ABC/Richard Cartwright
Meanwhile, green card marriages, faked deaths and secret hideouts were all proposed solutions to keep Bello in the United States—but marriage doesn’t grant Dreamers legal status. She had graduated college Magna Cum Laude, was valedictorian in high school and captain of the dance squad (and thus not the fake your own death kind of person), and Owen called Amelia’s suggestions for calling in Megan or an old army buddy’s favor grasping at straws.
As they continued to search for alternative options, Bailey noticed that Fields’ jugular vein was distended, which, in addition to the antacids he’d popped and the fact that he’d been at rest for a while, indicated a serious heart condition. He thought this was just part of her distraction technique, as did Maggie when she was called in to consult, but Dr. Bailey more than likely saved Agent Fields’ life. Before he left, he admitted to Bailey that they were after her for running a red light. They had her on camera, after an incredibly long day and with someone riding her ass, pumping the gas to make it through the yellow. Meredith was astounded, as was I: “I run a red light once a month! They can deport her for that?” Because honestly, same.
DaLuca finally suggested they run to Canada, but Meredith knew that that wasn’t the way to go this time. “They’re treating you like someone who snuck into this country in the trunk of a car. Don’t become what they’re trying to make you. If you run, you’re a criminal. If you’re a criminal, you can never practice medicine again. Do not give them that.” Finally, Bello was prepared to just go along with ICE. Her mother was working on finding a lawyer and she was wondering if she was even allowed to take a bag with her when Meredith presented her with a ticket to Zurich and copies of an application and essay, which she said were submitted last year and written by Dr. Bello.
She would voluntarily leave the country to continue her studies, working with Dr. Yang in Cristina’s cardio-thoracic unit, and I would pretend like I wasn’t emotional for the next 15 minutes. They always take care of their own, you guys, and they always make a statement while doing so.