'Orange Is the New Black's Exploration of ICE Detention Centers is Heartbreaking

Jenji Kohan's Orange Is the New Black may be in its final season and the alone is seemingly heartbreaking for tall the fans but the show, as always is known to break several boundaries in terms of exploring different issues all the way. One would remember how two seasons ago, the writer's room of the show's intent on tackling the U.S. immigration crisis in a powerful way on her Netflix prison dramedy.

According to a report in The Hollywood Reporter, "Jenji came in at the beginning of season six stating that one of the clear things she wanted to do was address immigration detention centers — that’s something she was adamant about," co-executive producer Brian Chamberlayne had told The Hollywood Reporter last year. The season six finale ended with both the release of leading inmate Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) and the transfer of Dominican inmate Blanca Flores (Laura Gomez) to the private prison's newest venture of an immigration detention center.

That finale reveal allowed for the seventh and final season of Orange, now streaming, to open up its world at the privately-owned Litchfield Penitentiary and include a new for-profit Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility. The addition of the ICE detention center gave Kohan and her writers the opportunity to introduce new characters, follow Blanca's treacherous path and return a fan-favorite to the show in order to highlight a range of impactful — and, for the latter, devastating — immigration-related storylines.

Maritza Ramos, the character played by Diane Guerrero, had not been seen on the series since she was separated from best friend Flaca (Jackie Cruz) and the rest of the core inmates in the season five finale. The actress, now speaking to THR, says she had been watching on the sidelines and hoped her phone would ring.

"I saw the seeds planted with Blanca and all I could do is say, 'Please tell this story and I hope that I’m a part of it.' And they called," Guerrero says of returning to Orange for a five-episode arc in the final season — one that ends with her character's heartbreaking deportation. "Immigration and detention centers are multiplying in this country and with what we’ve seen at the border and the separation of families and our current administration's inhumane laws, I thought it was super important to tell this story as Maritza."

When Orange travels inside prison owner PolyCon's detention center, Maritza has arrived as the result of an ICE raid at a nightclub and the former inmate not having her identification. It was revealed that Maritza had actually gotten out of prison and she spends her first days hitting roadblocks while trying to flag what she believes is a mix-up.

Guerrero and Gomez, who are both activists in immigration reform, told THR they had emotional phone calls with the writers about their personal storylines.