18 Ius Soli examines issues of race, ethnicity, and national identity in 21st-century multicultural Italy. It includes interviews with 18 young men and women born in Italy to immigrant parents who have attended Italian schools, speak Italian, and see themselves as Italian; however, they are not Italian citizens due to current law. Their struggle for citizenship and recognition has affinities with that of the Dreamers, undocumented young people brought to the U.S. as children. 18 Ius Soli thus offers a unique perspective on not only contemporary Italian society, but also the immigrant movements and activism of "dreamers" around the world.
