Man: WHAT IS OUR HISTORY?
WHAT IS OUR PAST?
WHAT IS THE CLAIM THAT WE HAVE TO BE MEMBERS OF THIS SOCIETY?
Man: WE ARE NOT HERE TO THREATEN OR TO BEG.
WE ARE HERE TO PARTICIPATE.
Woman: YOU CANNOT CLOSE YOUR EYES AND YOUR EARS
TO US ANY LONGER BECAUSE WE ARE HERE.
Man: MOST PEOPLE ARE SAYING, SPANISH, THE MEXICANS,
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DO NOT HAVE THE SPECIAL INHERITANCE
OF LIBERTY THAT WE HAVE.
Man: MY FATHER THOUGHT THAT THE UNITED STATES
WOULD BE LIKE PARADISE.
THERE WAS JOBS FOR EVERYONE.
THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE TRYING TO GET ACROSS.
Man: THE TOUGHEST PART WAS WHEN I LEFT MY MOM
NOT KNOWING IF I'M GONNA SEE HER AGAIN.
Woman: HERE'S A MAN WHO'S SHED HIS BLOOD,
AND YET HE CAN'T GET SOMETHING TO EAT.
Man: RECKLESS?
YES.
DANGEROUS?
EXTREMELY.
DID IT PAY OFF?
DAMN RIGHT.
Woman: THE FIRST EUROPEAN LANGUAGE
SPOKEN IN WHAT WOULD BECOME THE UNITED STATES IS SPANISH.
Rita Moren: IMMIGRATION MEANS IT ALL GETS TO BE
PART OF YOUR IDENTITY.
I CAN'T BELIEVE IT.
Gloria Estefan: IT'S CRUCIAL THAT WE KNOW WHO WE ARE,
WHERE WE COME FROM, AND WHAT IT'S BEEN LIKE.
I AM SO PROUD TO BE YOUR MAYOR.
I, SONIA SOTOMAYOR...
Man: THERE'S SO MUCH AT STAKE FOR ALL AMERICANS
IN HOW LATINOS IN THE UNITED STATES DO.
Announcer: FUNDING FOR
Male reporter: IN MIAMI, MORE THAN IN ANY OTHER MAJOR AMERICAN CITY,
PEOPLE CAN LIVE QUITE WELL
WITHOUT SPEAKING A WORD OF ENGLISH.
FOR HERE OR TO GO?
MIAMI IS OFFICIALLY BILINGUAL.
¿PARA AQUIÍ, PARA LLEVAR?
EVERY FORM, EVERY SERVICE
OF THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT
MUST BE OFFERED IN SPANISH
AS WELL AS ENGLISH.
[SINGING IN SPANISH]
Narrator: MIAMI HAD BECOME OFFICIALLY BILINGUAL IN 1973,
FOLLOWING A REFERENDUM SPONSORED
BY ITS GROWING CUBAN COMMUNITY.
OVER 300,000 CUBANS HAD DESCENDED
ON SOUTH FLORIDA DURING THE 1960s AND 1970s
IN THE AFTERMATH OF FIDEL CASTRO'S 1959 REVOLUTION
AND THE RISE OF A SOVIET-BACKED COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT.
Dennis Baron: MANY OF THE FIRST SPANISH-SPEAKING CUBANS
WHO CAME TO MIAMI AFTER FIDEL CASTRO'S REVOLUTION
WERE UPPER MIDDLE CLASS, MIDDLE CLASS, PROFESSIONAL,
WELL-EDUCATED, AND TO A CERTAIN EXTENT,
THEY FELT THAT THEY WERE IN TEMPORARY EXILE,
AND THEY HELD ON TO THEIR SPANISH.
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
Narrator: AT FIRST, MIAMIANS WELCOMED
THESE MOSTLY WHITE CUBAN EXILES,
BUT BY THE LATE 1970s, WITH SPANISH SPEAKERS COMPRISING
OVER 1/3 OF THE POPULATION,
MANY ENGLISH SPEAKERS WERE STARTING TO FEEL
OUT OF PLACE IN THEIR OWN CITY.
I FEEL LIKE A FOREIGNER.
THEY'VE TAKEN OVER MIAMI.
Narrator: IN 1978, RUSSIAN-BORN IMMIGRANT EMMY SHAFER,
INCENSED THAT SHE COULD NOT FIND AN ENGLISH-SPEAKING CLERK
AT A DADE COUNTY OFFICE,
SPEARHEADED A CAMPAIGN TO PUT AN END TO BILINGUALISM
AND MAKE ENGLISH THE ONLY OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF THE COUNTY.
Male reporter: WHEN EMMY SHAFER EMIGRATED HERE
FROM EASTERN EUROPE, SHE HAD TO LEARN ENGLISH.
SHE WANTS IT THAT WAY AGAIN.
SHE HAS STARTED A PETITION DRIVE TO PUT BILINGUALISM
TO A COUNTYWIDE VOTE.
WE WILL REMOVE THE CANCER, WHICH IS BILINGUAL.
Baron: THERE IS THIS IDEALISTIC NOTION
OF ONE LANGUAGE, ONE NATION.
THE OTHER STRAND THAT FEEDS INTO MANDATING
AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE IS RESENTMENT AND FEAR
OF PEOPLE WHO SPEAK A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE.
IT'S SOMEHOW MORE POLITE TO SAY,
"WE DON'T LIKE YOUR LANGUAGE,
SO WE'RE GONNA REQUIRE YOU TO CHANGE IT,"
THAN TO SAY, "WE DON'T LIKE YOU,
AND WE'D LIKE YOU TO LEAVE."
[CHEERING]
Narrator: EMMY SHAFER'S PUSH FOR AN ENGLISH-ONLY MIAMI
WAS A HARBINGER OF A BROADER ANTI-IMMIGRANT SENTIMENT
THAT SPREAD ACROSS THE COUNTRY
IN THE LATE 20th AND EARLY 21st CENTURIES...
GO HOME!
GO HOME!
Narrator: AS MILLIONS OF LATINOS--
CUBANS, CENTRAL AMERICANS, MEXICANS--
SOUGHT FREEDOM OR ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY,
IN EL NORTE, THE UNITED STATES.
[CHANTING, "CUBA SIÍ, RUSIA NO"]
Male reporter: IT WAS ONE OF THE BIGGEST DEMONSTRATIONS
IN MIAMI'S HISTORY.
THOUSANDS OF CUBAN EXILES FILLED THE STREETS TO SHOW
THEIR SUPPORT FOR THE CUBANS
AT THE PERUVIAN EMBASSY IN HAVANA.
Narrator: IN THE SPRING OF 1980, AN UNEXPECTED EVENT
WOULD GIVE NEW IMPETUS TO MIAMI'S
ANTI-BILINGUALISM MOVEMENT.
[CHANTING CONTINUES]
10,000 CUBANS, DESPERATE TO LEAVE A COUNTRY
THAT HAD BECOME MORE AND MORE REPRESSIVE,
OCCUPIED THE PERUVIAN EMBASSY IN HAVANA.
WITHIN DAYS, A DEFIANT PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO
ANNOUNCED THAT ANY CUBAN WHO WISHED TO LEAVE COULD DO SO.
SOON A RAMSHACKLE ARMADA SAILED FROM SOUTH FLORIDA
TO THE PORT OF MARIEL, JUST MILES FROM HAVANA,
WHERE THEY WAITED FOR THE REFUGEES.
AMONG THEM WAS A 25-YEAR-OLD DISAFFECTED WRITER
LUIS DE LA PAZ.
[DE LA PAZ SPEAKING SPANISH]
THEY PUT ME ON A SHRIMP BOAT WITH 260 OTHER PEOPLE
IN THE MIDDLE OF A VERY CHAOTIC SITUATION.
WE SAILED 14 1/2 HOURS ON THAT BOAT TO KEY WEST,
AND WHEN I ARRIVED, I SAW AN ENORMOUS AMERICAN FLAG.
Man:♫O SAY CAN YOU SEE♫
♫BY THE DAWN'S...♫
Narrator: OVER A PERIOD OF 5 MONTHS,
BEGINNING IN APRIL 1980, MORE THAN 125,000 CUBANS ARRIVED
IN SOUTH FLORIDA.
THE MARIELITOS, AS THEY WERE CALLED,
WERE PLACED IN CHURCHES, RECREATION CENTERS, ARMORIES,
EVEN THE ORANGE BOWL.
LUIS DE LA PAZ, ALONG WITH THOUSANDS OF OTHER CUBAN EXILES,
WAS HELD ON A MILITARY BASE WHILE AWAITING ASYLUM.
[DE LA PAZ SPEAKING SPANISH]
I'M COMING FROM THE CARIBBEAN AT THE END OF MAY.
I ARRIVE IN PENNSYLVANIA, AND IT WAS REALLY COLD.
I WAS THERE FOR 30-SOME, ALMOST 40 DAYS
IN A CLOSED, FENCED-IN CAMP.
Jimmy Carter: WE'LL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE AN OPEN HEART
AND OPEN ARMS TO REFUGEES SEEKING FREEDOM
FROM COMMUNIST DOMINATION AND FROM ECONOMIC DEPRIVATION.
Narrator: PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER HAD URGED AMERICANS TO RECEIVE
THE REFUGEES WITH OPEN ARMS
BUT SOON FOUND HIMSELF THE VICTIM OF A POLITICAL PLOY.
Male reporter: U.S. OFFICIALS SAY THAT
AMONG THE 120,000 MARIEL REFUGEES
WERE HUNDREDS OF HARDENED CRIMINALS AND MENTAL PATIENTS,
PLACED IN THE FLOTILLA BY CUBAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS.
ALTHOUGH ONLY 4% OF THE NEWLY ARRIVED CUBANS
WERE FROM MENTAL HOSPITALS,
OVER 25,000 HAD CRIMINAL RECORDS.
THE STORY MADE THE HEADLINES
AND BRANDED THE REFUGEES.
"MIAMI VICE," THE HIT COP SHOW,
PARADED A SERIES OF CUBAN PIMPS,
PROSTITUTES, DRUG DEALERS, AND PSYCHOPATHS.
THE MOTION PICTURE "SCARFACE" CAST AL PACINO
AS A MARIELITO COKE SMUGGLER AND KILLER.
I'M TONY MONTANA, A POLITICAL PRISONER FROM CUBA,
AND I WANT MY ... HUMAN RIGHTS NOW!
JUST LIKE THE PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER SAYS!
Eduardo Padrón: THE MARIEL BOATLIFT BROUGHT
OVER A 100,000 PEOPLE TO MIAMI IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.
PEOPLE FELT SCARED BY THE FACT
THAT SO MANY PEOPLE FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY
WERE "INVADING" THEIR CITY,
AND I THINK FOR THE FIRST TIME I EXPERIENCED
A SENSE OF REJECTION.
I HATE THEM USING SPANISH ALL THE TIME.
YOU CAN'T GET THEM TO SPEAK ENGLISH.
MAKE ME A REFUGEE.
THEN I'LL HAVE SOME RIGHTS, OK?
I SAY PUT THEM ON LEAKY BOATS!
Ray Suarez: I THINK MARIEL IS A TOTALLY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE
FROM THE FIRST WAVE THAT FOLLOWS THE REVOLUTION.
THE FACT THAT CASTRO CLEANS OUT HIS JAILS
AND MENTAL HOSPITALS GIVES YOU A HOOK TO DENIGRATE
THESE IMMIGRANTS IN A WAY THAT YOU COULDN'T DENIGRATE
THE COLD WAR HEROES OF THE EARLY SIXTIES.
♫GOD BLESS AMERICA♫
Female reporter: SINGING AND BEARING POSTERS
IN PROTEST OF U.S. IMMIGRATION LAWS,
THE CONTINUED USE OF SPANISH IN DADE COUNTY,
AND THE CRIME IMPORTED TO OUR SHORES,
ANTI-BILINGUALISM LEADER EMMY SHAFER LED
A SPARSE BAND OF SUPPORTERS THROUGH THE STREETS
OF DOWNTOWN MIAMI THIS AFTERNOON.
Narrator: THE ENGLISH ONLY CAMPAIGN CAME ROARING BACK
WITH EMMY SHAFER LEADING THE CHARGE.
IN THE 1980 ELECTIONS, VOTERS OVERWHELMINGLY
APPROVED AN ORDINANCE TO END
OFFICIAL BILINGUALISM IN DADE COUNTY.
Shafer, voice-over: THIS IS ONE STEP FORWARD,
AND I WILL ASK EVERYONE TO WORK TOGETHER
TOWARD COMMUNICATION INSTEAD OF MAKING THIS COMMUNITY
FARTHER AND FARTHER APART.
Padrón: THE ENGLISH ONLY ORDINANCE WAS REALLY A SHOCK.
IN A CITY WHERE CULTURE AND LANGUAGE
HAD MADE A DIFFERENCE IN TERMS OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
OF THE AREA AND CREATED SIGNIFICANT TIES
WITH THE LATIN AMERICAN MARKET,
THAT WAS DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND.
Narrator: OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS,
THE FIGHT AGAINST BILINGUALISM WENT NATIONAL.
WHEN IN 1986, A CALIFORNIA CONGRESSMAN
PROPOSED A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
TO DECLARE ENGLISH
THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE
OF THE UNITED STATES,
TELEVISION HOST PHIL DONAHUE
BROUGHT HIS SHOW TO MIAMI
TO DEBATE THE ISSUE.
IN A POPULATION AS DIFFERENT AS OURS IS,
IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE HOLD SOMETHING TOGETHER
THAT WE HAVE IN COMMON,
AND THAT'S THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
IF YOU WANT TO HAVE CULTURAL UNITY,
YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET IT WITH THIS AMENDMENT,
YOU'RE GOING TO GET TREMENDOUS POLARITY.
I LOVE THE BILINGUAL SIGNS, THE BILINGUAL BILLBOARDS,
BUT I DO FEEL THAT ENGLISH IS OUR LANGUAGE
AND THAT'S WHAT REALLY SHOULD BE SPOKEN.
I WAS BORN HERE.
WHY SHOULD I SPEAK A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
TO GET A JOB HERE IN AMERICA?
Shumway: YEAH, YEAH!
Narrator: VOTERS IN FLORIDA AND COLORADO WERE THE FIRST
TO PASS ENGLISH ONLY REFERENDUMS,
AND BY THE END OF THE 1980s, 9 OTHER STATES WOULD PASS
SIMILAR AMENDMENTS...
BUT NEW ARRIVALS SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGES
HAVE BEEN CENTRAL TO THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
FOR OVER A CENTURY.
THE YEARS FROM 1900 TO 1920 HAD DEFINED
THE UNITED STATES AS A NATION OF IMMIGRANTS,
AS OVER 15 MILLION EUROPEANS SOUGHT A NEW LIFE IN AMERICA.
AND THE LAST TWO DECADES OF THE 20th CENTURY
WOULD SEE ANOTHER WAVE OF IMMIGRATION,
ONE OF THE LARGEST IN U.S. HISTORY.
SOME CAME FROM COUNTRIES THAT HAD TRADITIONALLY FED AMERICA,
OTHERS FROM NEW PLACES AROUND THE GLOBE.
MANY WOULD BE THE FIRST CHILDREN OF GLOBALIZATION,
OTHERS THE LAST CHILDREN OF THE COLD WAR
AS THOUSANDS OF CENTRAL AMERICANS FLOODED
INTO THE U.S. SEEKING ESCAPE FROM OPPRESSION, EVEN DEATH.
BY THE LATE 1970s, CENTRAL AMERICA HAD BECOME
A BLOODY BATTLEGROUND OF THE COLD WAR.
IT BEGAN IN NICARAGUA WITH THE OVERTHROW
OF DICTATOR ANASTASIO SOMOZA,
THEN SPREAD TO GUATEMALA AND EL SALVADOR
WHERE CUBAN-BACKED GUERRILLAS ROSE UP
AGAINST REPRESSIVE GOVERNMENTS,
SOME SUPPORTED BY THE UNITED STATES
SEEKING TO HALT COMMUNIST EXPANSION.
FEAR AND TERROR SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE REGION...
[GUNSHOT]
AND SO IT ARRIVED IN THE SMALL TOWN
OF ATASQUEPEQUE IN RURAL EL SALVADOR.
HERE CARLOS VAQUERANO, 1 OF 11 CHILDREN RAISED
BY A WIDOWED MOTHER, FOUND HIMSELF THRUST
INTO THE MIDST OF A CIVIL WAR.
Carlos Vaquerano: I WAS ONLY, YOU KNOW, 15 WHEN
THE WAR ACTUALLY STARTED TO GET WORSE.
I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS GOING TO SCHOOL
THE DEATH SQUADS AND THE MILITARY
USED TO COME TO MY TOWN,
SO WE, YOU KNOW-- THEY--THROUGH THE RUMOR,
YOU KNOW, "THE DEATH SQUADS IS COMING TOMORROW,"
SO ALL THE YOUTH HAD TO GO OUT AND SLEEP OUTSIDE
IN THE COUNTRYSIDE OR HIDE SOMEWHERE ELSE
BUT NOT STAY IN, YOU KNOW, AVOIDING THEM TO CAPTURE US.
SO THAT WAS OUR LIVES, YOU KNOW, FROM 14, 12, TO 17.
THE MILITARY CAME AND, YOU KNOW, TOOK OVER THE HIGH SCHOOL.
YOU KNOW, IT WAS IN 1978, 1979.
I LOST MANY FRIENDS FROM HIGH SCHOOL AND FROM MY TOWN.
[GUNSHOTS]
María Cristina García: PARAMILITARY SQUADS, THE SO-CALLED DEATH SQUADS,
THEY'RE GOING AFTER NOT JUST THE GUERRILLA GROUPS
BUT ALL THOSE WHO ARE BELIEVED TO BE SUPPORTING
THEM IN SOME WAY, AND THIS INCLUDES JOURNALISTS,
AND IT INCLUDES CLERGYMEN AND STUDENTS
AND UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS
AND THOSE WHO ARE POLITICALLY SUSPECT.
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ARE DISAPPEARING.
Vaquerano: IN JULY OF 1980, MY BROTHER MARCIAL
WAS KIDNAPPED ALONG WITH 7 OTHER FRIENDS.
THEY WERE BRUTALLY KILLED.
[ROOSTER CROWS]
SO I WENT TO SEE MY MOM AT ABOUT 5 A.M.,
AND EVERYBODY WAS THERE, A LOT OF PEOPLE, YOU KNOW,
CONSOLING MY MOM, AND SO...
SO I SAID, "MOM, I'M HERE,"
BECAUSE I KNEW THAT SHE WAS BEING WORRIED,
BUT MY MOM TOLD ME, "SON, YOU HAVE TO LEAVE.
I DON'T WANT YOU HERE BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING TO BE NEXT."
García: EVERY AREA OF EL SALVADOR IS AFFECTED
IN SOME WAY BY THE GROWING VIOLENCE,
AND THERE IS ENORMOUS FEAR,
AND THAT FEAR PROPELS MANY PEOPLE TO LEAVE.
FIRST, THEY SETTLE TO OTHER AREAS OF THE COUNTRY WHERE
THEY FEEL THAT IT MIGHT BE SAFER,
BUT AS THE VIOLENCE SPREADS TO THOSE AREAS,
THEN PEOPLE PACK UP, AND THEY MOVE
TO NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES.
THEY MOVE TO GUATEMALA, OR THEY MIGHT MOVE TO HONDURAS
OR COSTA RICA,
AND IF THEY CAN'T FIND THE ECONOMIC
AND POLITICAL SECURITY THAT THEY SEEK
IN THOSE NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES,
THEN THE NEXT LOGICAL STEP IS TO MOVE FURTHER NORTH.
Narrator: THE DEATH TOLL MOUNTED--
30,000 IN NICARAGUA, 75,000 IN EL SALVADOR,
140,000 IN GUATEMALA.
NEARLY A MILLION PEOPLE FLED FOR THEIR LIVES.
MANY HEADED TO THE UNITED STATES.
Vaquerano: I HAD MIXED FEELINGS BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE,
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I SAW THAT, YOU KNOW,
THAT WAS THE ONLY WAY.
Narrator: VAQUERANO REACHED THE BORDER TOWN OF TIJUANA, MEXICO,
WHERE HE MET A COYOTE, A SMUGGLER WHO WOULD SNEAK HIM
ACROSS THE BORDER TO CALIFORNIA FOR A FEE.
Vaquerano: THE COYOTE PUT MYSELF AND ANOTHER YOUNG BOY
FROM GUATEMALA ON A GMC TRUCK, YOU KNOW,
INSIDE THE ENGINE.
SINCE I WAS VERY SMALL, I WAS ABLE TO FIT.
MY OTHER FRIEND, HE WAS, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY BEING LIKE THAT.
I WAS, YOU KNOW, LIKE THIS,
AND THEY TOLD US IT'S GOING TO TAKE PROBABLY 30 MINUTES
BECAUSE WE WERE CROSSING THE BORDER,
AND WHEN WE REACHED 20 MINUTES, 25,
WE JUST DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.
I WAS READY TO--TO--TO, YOU KNOW, TO SCREAM
AND TO SAY SOMETHING, "I'M HERE, I'M HERE."
SO IT TOOK ABOUT 40 MINUTES OR SO
FOR THEM TO CROSS THE BORDER,
AND WE WERE SO RELIEVED WHEN THEY LET US FREE.
Narrator: THE COYOTE THEN TOOK VAQUERANO AND HIS COMPANION
TO A SAFE HOUSE JUST ACROSS THE BORDER.
Vaquerano: I REMEMBER THAT DAY.
IT WAS A VERY NICE HOUSE.
WE WERE ABLE TO SHOWER AND HAVE A NICE DINNER,
AND THE FOLLOWING DAY IN THE EARLY MORNING,
THEY TOOK US TO McDONALD'S.
WE HAD THAT ANTI-U.S.
SENTIMENT.
McDONALD'S WAS THE SYMBOL OF THE U.S.
IMPERIALISM.
"THIS IS CRAZY.
HOW CAN I BE HERE?
I DON'T WANT TO EAT THIS,"
BUT OF COURSE, I MEAN, I WAS HUNGRY,
SO I END UP EATING AT McDONALD'S.
Narrator: THE NEXT DAY, VAQUERANO FINALLY MADE IT TO LOS ANGELES,
AND HE RECALLED THE WORDS HIS OLDER BROTHER HAD SPOKEN
TO HIM JUST BEFORE HE LEFT EL SALVADOR.
Vaquerano: HE SAID, "DON'T FORGET THAT YOU HAVE
"TO DO SOMETHING FOR YOUR COUNTRY
"EVEN IF YOU LEAVE HERE.
"AND I KNOW THAT THERE IS PEOPLE THERE THAT ARE
ALREADY BEING ORGANIZED TO DO SOMETHING FOR THE COUNTRY."
I DON'T FORGET THOSE WORDS,
AND THAT WAS THE LAST TIME I SAW MY BROTHER
BECAUSE HE WAS KILLED THE FOLLOWING YEAR.
Narrator: AT FIRST, VAQUERANO HAD A HARD TIME ADJUSTING
TO HIS NEW LIFE IN LOS ANGELES.
HE WAS SICK FROM STRESS AND WORRIED ABOUT HIS FAMILY
IN EL SALVADOR.
Vaquerano: I HAD TO LEARN THE LANGUAGE,
FIND A JOB BECAUSE I NEEDED TO HELP MY FAMILY,
BUT ALSO DO THE KIND OF SOCIAL JUSTICE WORK THAT I WANTED TO DO.
Narrator: BY 1984 VAQUERANO WAS WORKING FULL TIME,
HELPING FELLOW CENTRAL AMERICAN REFUGEES SURVIVE UNDERGROUND
IN THE UNITED STATES.
García: DURING THE 1980s IF ONE CAME FROM CENTRAL AMERICA,
IT WAS VERY HARD TO FIND POLITICAL REFUGE,
TO FIND ASYLUM IN THE UNITED STATES.
THE REAGAN ADMINISTRATION, LATER THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION,
COULDN'T ADMIT THAT THEY WERE POLITICAL REFUGEES
BECAUSE TO DO SO WAS TO ADMIT THAT
THE COUNTRIES THAT THEY WERE SUPPORTING
WITH BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN MILITARY AID
WERE REPRESSING THEIR OWN CITIZENS,
THAT THEIR POLICIES WERE HELPING TO CREATE
THE VERY CONDITIONS THAT WERE PRODUCING THIS MIGRATION.
EVEN THOUGH MOST GUATEMALANS
AND SALVADORANS WERE DENIED ASYLUM,
THE POPULATION OF CENTRAL AMERICAN
AND MEXICAN IMMIGRANTS MORE THAN DOUBLED DURING THE 1980s.
A NETWORK OF UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS WORKING
AS GARDENERS, DAY LABORERS,
CLEANING LADIES, COOKS, AND NANNIES EMERGED
IN LOS ANGELES, SAN FRANCISCO, NEW YORK,
AND THE SUBURBS OF WASHINGTON, D.C.
SEEKING TO BRING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
UNDER CONTROL WHILE MAINTAINING
A STABLE AGRICULTURAL LABOR FORCE,
PRESIDENT REAGAN SIGNED THE IMMIGRATION REFORM AND CONTROL ACT OF 1986.
KNOWN AS IRCA, THE ACT WAS INTENDED TO TOUGHEN U.S. IMMIGRATION LAW.
BORDER SECURITY WAS TO BE ENHANCED,
AND EMPLOYERS WERE NOW REQUIRED TO MONITOR
THE IMMIGRATION STATUS OF THEIR EMPLOYEES.
HIRING UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS WOULD BE A CRIME...
BUT IRCA ALSO GRANTED AMNESTY TO NEARLY 3 MILLION IMMIGRANTS,
MOSTLY MEXICANS, WHO HAD QUIETLY SLIPPED
ACROSS THE BORDER DURING THE 1970s AND EARLY 1980s.
I BELIEVE IN THE IDEA OF AMNESTY
FOR THOSE WHO HAVE PUT DOWN ROOTS AND WHO HAVE LIVED HERE
EVEN THOUGH SOMETIME BACK THEY MAY HAVE ENTERED ILLEGALLY.
WITH REGARD TO THE EMPLOYERS...
Linda Chávez: I THINK THIS WAS A VERY EASY THING
FOR PRESIDENT REAGAN TO DO.
HE ONCE GAVE ONE OF HIS RADIO ADDRESSES
IN WHICH HE REFERRED TO ILLEGAL ALIENS AS ANOTHER NAME.
HE SAID, "AN ILLEGAL ALIEN IS JUST A WILLING WORKER."
AND SO HE SIGNED THE AMNESTY, AND TODAY,
YOU KNOW, AMNESTY IS LIKE THE SCARLET "A,"
SCARLET LETTER THAT DEMOCRATS FAVOR AND REPUBLICANS ABHOR,
BUT AT THAT TIME, IT WAS CONSIDERED, YOU KNOW,
AS PART OF THE PACKAGE DEAL.
ENFORCEMENT OF IRCA WAS AT BEST SPOTTY,
BUT THE 1986 AMNESTY DID OPEN THE PATH TO CITIZENSHIP
FOR UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS LIVING IN THE U.S.
PRIOR TO 1982.
García: MANY CENTRAL AMERICANS WHO WERE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE
OF THIS AMNESTY PROGRAM AND NORMALIZE THEIR STATUS,
ESTABLISH PERMANENT RESIDENCY,
AND BECOME CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES,
BUT THIS MIGRATION WAS ONGOING.
THERE WERE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF SALVADORANS
AND GUATEMALANS AND NICARAGUANS
WHO WERE ARRIVING EVERY MONTH IN SEARCH OF POLITICAL SAFETY
AND ALSO ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY,
AND THEY WERE NOT BENEFICIARIES OF THIS AMNESTY PROGRAM.
Narrator: IN 1992, A SERIES OF PEACE AGREEMENTS FINALLY
ENDED THE BLOODSHED IN EL SALVADOR.
BY NOW, CARLOS VAQUERANO HAD BECOME A U.S. CITIZEN.
Vaquerano: I DECIDED TO STAY IN THE U.S.
PRIMARILY BECAUSE OF MY MOM.
MY MOM SAID, "YOU GOT TO STAY IN THE U.S.
I NEED YOU THERE BECAUSE OTHERWISE YOU'RE GONNA BE KILLED."
AND IT WAS TRUE, YOU KNOW.
ALTHOUGH THE WAR ENDED IN 1992,
I THOUGHT THAT I COULD DO MORE BEING HERE.
[MIAMI SOUND MACHINE'S "CONGA" PLAYING]
Narrator: BY THE EARLY 1990s, THE UNITED STATES WAS HOME
TO OVER 22 MILLION CENTRAL AMERICANS,
MEXICANS, AND CARIBBEANS.
LATINOS WERE EMERGING AS A VITAL FORCE
IN AMERICAN CULTURE.
Announcer: DE LA HOYA CARRYING AMERICAN AND MEXICAN FLAGS.
Narrator: IN SPORTS, BUSINESS, POLITICS,
AS WELL AS MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT.
Gloria Estefan: EVERY ARTICLE YOU WOULD READ, I THINK,
AT THAT TIME SHOWED SOMETHING SEXY, HOT, COOL
ABOUT BEING LATINO.
YOU WOULD SEE SHOOTS THAT HAD THE CUBAN FEEL, THE LATIN FEEL.
HOLLYWOOD WAS FOCUSING ON IT.
ALL OF A SUDDEN, WE'RE PLAYING THE SUPER BOWL,
THE SUPER BOWL, THE MOST AMERICAN OF PLACES TO BE.
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
Narrator: GLORIA ESTEFAN CAME TO MIAMI
WITH HER PARENTS IN 1959,
PART OF THE FIRST WAVE OF SOMETIMES UNWELCOME CUBAN EXILES.
Estefan: I ACTUALLY REMEMBER MY MOM WALKING UP TO A PLACE
THAT SAID, "NO CHILDREN, NO PETS, NO CUBANS."
THAT WAS--SHE TURNED AROUND.
THE FIRST MUSIC I SANG EVER IN MY LIFE WAS
IN SPANISH FOR MY MOM, MY GRANDMA.
IT WAS OLD CUBAN MUSIC,
OLD LIKE MY GRANDMA'S TIME,
AND THEN THE SONGS THAT I SANG IN HIGH SCHOOL
FOR MY FRIENDS--CAROLE KING, JAMES TAYLOR, ELTON JOHN--
THESE WERE THE PEOPLE THAT WERE INFLUENCING ME,
SO GROWING UP IN THE STATES WITH POP MUSIC AND HAVING
MY CUBAN CULTURE, IT WAS VERY EASY TO BLEND IT.
[PLAYING "CONGA"]
Narrator: OUT OF THAT FUSION CAME THE HIT SONG THAT LAUNCHED
THE LATIN EXPLOSION "CONGA."
♫FEEL THE RHYTHM OF THE MUSIC GETTING STRONGER♫
♫DON'T YOU FIGHT IT TILL YOU TRY TO DO THAT CONGA BEAT♫
Narrator: LATIN MUSIC AND LATIN STYLE
HAD CROSSED OVER INTO MAINSTREAM AMERICAN CULTURE.
Estefan: YOU SAW ENRIQUE IGLESIAS TAKING OFF,
YOU SAW J.
LO'S SUCCESS.
MARC ANTHONY HAD A BIG HIT.
♫HERE WE GO♫
♫ALE, ALE, ALE♫
Narrator: RICKY MARTIN'S FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE ALBUM
WOULD SELL OVER 22 MILLION COPIES.
Estefan: IT'S WONDERFUL WHEN THE PENDULUM IS SWINGING
YOUR WAY AND YOU CAN GRAB ONTO IT AND RUN.
IT WAS EXCITING TO SHOW THE PUBLIC THAT
THE LATIN SOUND, THE LATIN FEEL, THE LATIN MOVEMENT HAD POWER
AND THAT YOU COULD PROMOTE YOUR CULTURE THAT WAY.
I THINK ULTIMATELY, FOR ANY ARTIST,
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING IS TO PROMOTE YOUR CULTURE...
♫OH, EH, OH, EH♫
BECAUSE YOU DO KIND OF STAND FOR MORE THAN JUST YOU.
Audience:♫OH, EH, OHH, AHH♫
♫OH, EH, OH, EH♫
Audience:♫OH, EH, OH, EH♫
Estefan:♫OH, EH, OHH, AHH♫
María Elena Salinas: LATINOS BEGAN TO FEEL PROUD
OF THEIR CULTURAL HERITAGE.
SUDDENLY IT WAS COOL TO BE LATINO.
Announcer: "NOTICIERO UNIVISION"
CON JORGE RAMOS Y MARIÍA SALINAS.
Narrator: SINCE 1988, MARIÍA ELENA SALINAS
HAS CO-ANCHORED THE EVENING NEWS FOR UNIVISION,
THE LARGEST SPANISH LANGUAGE NETWORK IN THE U.S. MARKET.
BORN IN LOS ANGELES TO MEXICAN PARENTS,
SALINAS IS THE EMBODIMENT OF THE AMERICAN DREAM.
I GREW UP IN A LOW-INCOME FAMILY
IN WHICH I HAD TO START WORKING WHEN I WAS 14 YEARS OLD
TO HELP MY PARENTS MAKE ENDS MEET,
TO PAY THE RENT, TO PAY MY PRIVATE SCHOOL,
TO PAY MY CLOTHES, TO PAY MY THINGS.
Narrator: SHE BEGAN HER CAREER AS A REPORTER IN 1981
AT KMEX-TV IN LOS ANGELES.
Salinas, VOICE-OVER: I WAS VERY YOUNG.
SPANISH LANGUAGE MEDIA WAS VERY YOUNG.
THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY WAS VERY YOUNG.
AT THAT TIME, THERE WAS ONLY A HANDFUL OF STATIONS,
AND REALLY VERY FEW PEOPLE BELIEVED
IN SPANISH LANGUAGE MEDIA.
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
Narrator: IN THE COURSE OF HER CAREER,
SALINAS WOULD COVER ALL THE MAJOR STORIES OF THE DAY.
HELLO, GOVERNOR.
HOW ARE YOU?
FINE THANK YOU.
NICE TO MEET YOU.
MARIÍA SALINAS.
NICE TO SEE YOU, MARIÍA.
Narrator: IN 1994, SALINAS INTERVIEWED
CALIFORNIA'S REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR PETE WILSON,
WHOSE RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN
TARGETED UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS.
FOR CALIFORNIANS WHO WORK HARD, PAY TAXES,
AND OBEY THE LAWS, I'M SUING TO FORCE
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO CONTROL THE BORDER,
AND I'M WORKING TO DENY STATE SERVICES
TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
Announcer: GOVERNOR PETE WILSON.
Salinas; AT SOME POINT, PETE WILSON'S GRANDPARENTS
OR GREAT-GRANDPARENTS WERE EITHER IMMIGRANTS
OR COME FROM AN IMMIGRANT FAMILY.
I REMEMBER ASKING HIM HOW HIS GRANDPARENTS
OR GREAT-GRANDPARENTS WOULD FEEL
WHEN THEY HEAR HIM BLAMING WHAT HE CALLED
THESE ILLEGAL ALIENS FOR THE BREAKDOWN
IN THE ECONOMY, BREAKDOWN IN THE CULTURE.
Announcer: THEY KEEP COMING...
2 MILLION ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN CALIFORNIA.
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WON'T STOP THEM AT THE BORDER,
YET REQUIRES US TO PAY BILLIONS
TO TAKE CARE OF THEM.
Salinas: IT WAS THE FIRST TIME WE SAW
SOMETHING SO DIRECT,
THE FIRST TIME WE SAW IMAGES OF IMMIGRANTS RUNNING,
CROSSING THE BORDER.
IT WAS THE UGLY FACE OF IMMIGRATION.
Eliseo Medina: AND IT WAS A STRAIGHT OUT RACIST MESSAGE
THAT WAS IN SERVICE OF A RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN
AND WHAT CREATED HUGE DIVISIVENESS
IN THE COMMUNITY.
WE ARE GONNA TAKE BACK CALIFORNIA.
Narrator: WILSON THREW HIS WEIGHT BEHIND PROPOSITION 187,
A CALIFORNIA BALLOT INITIATIVE THAT WOULD SEVERELY RESTRICT
HEALTH CARE AND OTHER GOVERNMENT SERVICES
FOR THE UNDOCUMENTED.
Mark Krikorian: CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS WERE DEALING
WITH VERY LARGE NUMBERS OF KIDS WHO EITHER WERE
THEMSELVES ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS OR THE CHILDREN BORN HERE
OF RECENT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS.
A LOT OF HOSPITALS CLOSED THEIR EMERGENCY ROOMS
BECAUSE LARGE NUMBERS OF POOR IMMIGRANTS WERE USING
THOSE AS THEIR MEDICAL CARE.
YOU CAN'T HAVE AN ONGOING LARGE FLOW OF PEOPLE
WHO ARE GOING TO BE IN THAT SITUATION AND KEEP THAT UP.
IT'S JUST NOT SUSTAINABLE.
Narrator: THE PROPOSITION PASSED WITH 59% OF THE VOTE.
Krikorian: PEOPLE BASICALLY VOTED FOR PROP 187
TO DELIVER 2x4 TO THE HEAD OF THE POLITICIANS,
TO TELL THEM "WAKE UP.
WE WANT SOMETHING DONE ABOUT THIS."
Medina: WE WERE DISCOURAGED THAT THE VOTERS
WOULD HAVE SUPPORTED THIS PROPOSITION,
BUT THE FACT IS THEY HAD,
AND IF WE KEPT QUIET, IF WE GAVE UP,
THEN LIFE WOULD BE WORSE FOR OUR PEOPLE,
WOULD BE WORSE FOR OUR CHILDREN AND EVERYBODY ELSE.
SO WE BEGAN TO REACH OUT TO OTHER COMMUNITY GROUPS
AND ORGANIZATIONS AND UNIONS THAT REPRESENTED
IMMIGRANT WORKERS LIKE OURSELVES.
Narrator: ELISEO MEDINA BEGAN HIS CAREER AS A LABOR ORGANIZER
AT AGE 19 WHEN HE JOINED THE UNITED FARM WORKERS
GRAPE STRIKE IN DELANO, CALIFORNIA.
OVER THE NEXT 13 YEARS, HE HONED HIS SKILLS
ALONGSIDE LABOR LEADERS CESAR CHAVEZ AND DOLORES HUERTA.
MEDINA WOULD EVENTUALLY BECOME THE FIRST
MEXICAN-AMERICAN VICE PRESIDENT
OF THE SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION.
Medina: IT GOES BACK TO THE FARM WORKERS' DAYS.
WE KNEW THAT IF WE WERE GONNA WIN
ON THIS IMMIGRATION DEBATE THAT WE NEEDED TO FIGHT BACK,
SO WE FILED LAWSUITS TO CHALLENGE THE CONSTITUTIONALITY
OF PROPOSITION 187.
Narrator: OVER THE ENSUING MONTHS,
ONLY A FEW PROVISIONS OF PROPOSITION 187 WERE ENFORCED,
AND IN 1996, THE LAW WAS RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL
ON THE GROUNDS THAT ONLY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
HAS THE AUTHORITY TO REGULATE IMMIGRATION,
BUT FOR HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS,
AN ALARM HAD BEEN SOUNDED.
Medina: THERE WAS A LOT OF FEAR FOR PEOPLE
ABOUT WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THEM,
WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THEIR FAMILIES,
PARTICULARLY IF YOU WERE UNDOCUMENTED
AND YOU HAD AMERICAN-BORN CHILDREN.
IF YOU GOT ARRESTED AND DEPORTED,
YOUR CHILDREN ARE LEFT BEHIND, HELPLESS.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Narrator: STILL, THE FLOW OF IMMIGRANTS,
ESPECIALLY FROM MEXICO, INCREASED,
FEEDING THE DEMANDS OF THE BOOMING U.S. ECONOMY.
IMMIGRATION AGENTS WERE APPREHENDING
NEARLY 10,000 UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS A WEEK
AT THE MEXICAN BORDER
AND IN RAIDS OF HOMES AND WORKPLACES.
Salinas: THERE SEEMED TO BE IN MAINSTREAM AMERICA
A SENTIMENT OF THREAT.
"WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?
"WHAT--THEY'RE INVADING OUR COUNTRY.
THEY ARE A THREAT TO OUR WAY OF LIFE."
Narrator: BY 2004, ANTI-IMMIGRANT SENTIMENT REACHED
A TIPPING POINT.
Brian Williams: AT LEAST ONE PERSON WAS INJURED
IN A CONFRONTATION OVER EXTENDING BENEFITS
TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS.
Narrator: DISTURBANCES BROKE OUT ACROSS THE COUNTRY,
AND IN BORDER STATES SUCH AS ARIZONA,
SOME BEGAN TO TAKE MATTERS INTO THEIR OWN HANDS.
Male reporter: ABOUT 400 VOLUNTEERS THIS MONTH
ARE EXPECTED TO JOIN THE SO-CALLED MINUTEMEN,
CITIZENS FRUSTRATED WITH WHAT THEY CLAIM
IS A FAILURE TO PROTECT AND CONTROL U.S.
BORDERS.
Chris Simcox: THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT DOING ITS JOB.
WE ARE THE GOVERNMENT, SO WE WILL TAKE UP THE SLACK,
AND WE WILL ASSIST THEM IN DOING THEIR JOB.
Narrator: FORMER KINDERGARTEN TEACHER CHRIS SIMCOX
ORGANIZED A MILITIA CALLED THE MINUTEMAN PROJECT.
IN APRIL 2005, THEY BEGAN PATROLLING THE BORDER.
VOLUNTEERS SITTING IN LAWN CHAIRS
WITH BINOCULARS, MANY OF THEM ARMED,
WOULD REPORT UNAUTHORIZED BORDER CROSSINGS
OR OTHER ILLEGAL ACTIVITY TO THE U.S. BORDER PATROL.
YOU CAN SEE A GROUP'S COME THROUGH HERE RECENTLY.
Simcox, voice-over: I'VE GOT NOTHING AGAINST IMMIGRANTS.
AS LONG AS YOU COME IN LEGALLY, YOU'RE WELCOME.
THIS IS WHAT ALL AMERICANS SHOULD BE DOING.
THEY ALL SHOULD BE DRIVING DOWN HERE AND TELLING
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THAT THIS IS INTOLERABLE
AND ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
THESE PEOPLE ARE COMING AND JUST SPITTING ON OUR CITIZENSHIP,
JUST TRAMPLING ON IT, CHEAPENING IT.
Chávez: THOSE PEOPLE ARE HERE BECAUSE WE HAVE JOBS
IN THE UNITED STATES THAT AMERICANS SHUN.
THEY'RE JOBS PICKING OUR CROPS.
THEY'RE WORKING IN OUR MEAT INDUSTRY,
IN OUR POULTRY INDUSTRY.
THEY'RE CLEANING OUR BUILDINGS,
THEY'RE TAKING CARE OF OUR BABIES,
THEY'RE WAITING TABLES.
THESE ARE JOBS THAT NEED DOING
AND THAT THESE IMMIGRANTS ARE WILLING TO TAKE
WHEN AMERICANS AREN'T.
Krikorian: EVEN IF YOU WERE OF THE BELIEF
THAT THERE WERE JOBS AMERICANS WOULDN'T DO
AND WE NEEDED FOREIGN LABOR TO MOW OUR LAWNS
AND, YOU KNOW, COOK OUR FOOD AND WASH OUR DISHES,
IT DOESN'T EXCUSE MASS VIOLATION OF THE LAW.
Narrator: BY THE END OF 2005, ANTI-IMMIGRANT RHETORIC
TURNED INTO LEGISLATION WHEN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PASSED A FAR-REACHING BILL, H.R.
4437, INTRODUCED
BY CONGRESSMAN JIM SENSENBRENNER OF WISCONSIN.
Sensenbrenner: WE'VE GOT TO GET CONTROL
OF OUR BORDERS BECAUSE IF WE DON'T
WE'RE GONNA SEE OUR ECONOMY COLLAPSE.
THEY'LL FLOOD OUR SCHOOLS.
OUR HEALTH CARE SYSTEM WILL COLLAPSE,
AND OUR SOCIAL SERVICES SYSTEM WILL END UP BEING OVERTAXED.
IF THE SENATE WENT ALONG, 12 MILLION UNDOCUMENTED LATINO IMMIGRANTS
WOULD BE GIVEN A BLANKET TITLE-- THEY WOULD ALL BE FELONS.
Medina: THE SENSENBRENNER AMENDMENT CLEARLY
ON THE NATIONAL LEVEL WOULD HAVE CRIMINALIZED
MILLIONS OF LATINOS.
IT WOULD HAVE CRIMINALIZED THE GOOD SAMARITAN.
THAT MEANS THAT WHOMEVER WOULD HELP AN UNDOCUMENTED WORKER
WOULD BE GUILTY OF A CRIME.
[CHANTING, "SIÍ SE PUEDE"]
Medina: WHEN THAT AMENDMENT GOT INTRODUCED IN THE U.S. CONGRESS,
WE ALL ROSE TOGETHER AND STARTED FIGHTING AGAINST IT.
THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THAT COMMUNITY
THAT FINALLY SAID, "WE'VE HAD ENOUGH."
[CHANTING, "SIÍ SE PUEDE"]
Salinas: WHAT WE HAD BEEN CALLING THE SLEEPING GIANT
FOR MANY YEARS AT THAT MOMENT WOKE UP.
Narrator: THE PROTESTS OF 2006 ECHOED
THE CIVIL RIGHTS MARCHES OF THE 1960s.
IN THE WEEKS THAT FOLLOWED, MARCHERS TURNED OUT
IN CITIES ACROSS THE NATION FROM PORTLAND, OREGON,
TO OMAHA, NEW YORK, AND BOSTON.
SOME OF THE LARGEST DEMONSTRATIONS WERE
IN CHICAGO, LOS ANGELES, AND WASHINGTON, D.C...
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
Narrator: WHERE NEARLY 500,000 RALLIED IN EACH CITY.
Vaquerano: THAT DAY WAS VERY HISTORICAL.
I WENT WITH A GROUP OF STUDENTS AND PARENTS
BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE DO.
WE ORGANIZE PARENTS, WE ORGANIZE THE DREAMERS,
YOU KNOW, UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS WHO ARE FIGHTING
TO BE RECOGNIZED AND TO GET LEGAL RESIDENCY.
Medina: THE WHOLE RAINBOW OF IMMIGRANTS
FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD WERE OUT MARCHING
WITH ONE VERY SIMPLE MESSAGE-- "WE ARE NOT CRIMINALS.
WE DESERVE RESPECT."
Salinas: IF BEFORE IT WAS ONLY UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS SORT OF LIKE MAYBE COMPLAINING
AND SOME SMALL ADVOCACY GROUPS DEFENDING THEIR RIGHTS,
I THINK THAT THAT WAS ONE OF THE TURNING POINTS
WHERE THE LATINO COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE FELT THREATENED,
AND THEY KNEW THAT THEY HAD THE POWER TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
Medina: AND HIDDEN IN THERE WAS A MESSAGE THAT SAID,
"TODAY WE MARCH.
TOMORROW WE VOTE."
H.R.
4437, THE SENSENBRENNER BILL,
DIED IN THE SENATE.
THE MASSIVE RESPONSE HAD WORKED,
BUT WITH NO NEW COMPREHENSIVE FEDERAL IMMIGRATION POLICY
AND ONLY HAPHAZARD ENFORCEMENT OF EXISTING LAWS,
SOME STATES ACTED ON THEIR OWN.
IN APRIL 2010, GOVERNOR JAN BREWER OF ARIZONA
SIGNED THE BROADEST AND TOUGHEST ANTI-ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT LAW
IN U.S. HISTORY.
KNOWN AS S.B.
1070, IT CRACKED DOWN ON ANYONE
HARBORING OR HIRING UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS
AND GAVE LOCAL POLICE UNPRECEDENTED POWERS.
Male reporter: THE LAW WOULD ALLOW LOCAL POLICE TO QUESTION
AND POTENTIALLY ARREST ANY PERSON THEY THINK IS HERE ILLEGALLY,
EVEN ON ROUTINE TRAFFIC STOPS.
OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS, OTHER STATES WOULD FOLLOW SUIT.
THE BATTLEGROUND OF THE IMMIGRATION WAR
WAS STARTING TO SPREAD.
SINCE THE 1980s, LATINOS HAD BEGUN MOVING AWAY
FROM BORDER STATES, WHERE JOBS WERE BECOMING SCARCE,
TO OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY,
ESPECIALLY THE SOUTHEAST.
JORGE SALAICES HAD FOLLOWED HIS TWO BROTHERS
OUT OF MEXICO, FIRST TO TEXAS, AND THEN, IN 1987,
TO DALTON, GEORGIA, DEEP IN SOUTHERN APPALACHIA.
Salaices: I COME FROM A LITTLE VILLAGE
IN THE STATE OF ZACATECAS NAMED MOJITOS.
THERE'S NO--NO WORK.
THE YOUNGER BOYS IN MY GENERATION,
WE WERE THINKING OF COMING TO WORK TO THE UNITED STATES.
WHEN THE OPPORTUNITY CAME, WE TOOK IT.
Narrator: GEORGIA HAD BECOME ATTRACTIVE
TO MEXICAN IMMIGRANTS WITH THE ECONOMIC BOOM
THAT BEGAN IN THE LATE 1980s.
THOUSANDS MOVED TO DALTON,
KNOWN AS THE CARPET CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.
BY THE MID-1990s, 80% OF THE WALL-TO-WALL CARPET
PRODUCED IN THE U.S. WAS MADE IN DALTON
BY A WORKFORCE THAT WAS BECOMING INCREASINGLY LATINO.
SALAICES EASILY LANDED A JOB IN A CARPET MILL.
Salaices: IT WAS A SIMPLE LIFE.
THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY WAS VERY SMALL,
MAINLY LIVING IN TWO NEIGHBORHOODS,
AND WE KNEW EVERYBODY,
AND THE CARPET MILLS, THEY SEE US AS WORKERS, AS HARD WORKERS.
SO THEREFORE, THEY WELCOME EVERYBODY.
THAT'S THE MAIN THING.
WE'RE HERE TO COME TO WORK
AND HAVE A GOOD LIFE.
Narrator: JORGE SALAICES MARRIED A WOMAN
FROM HIS HOME STATE OF ZACATECAS.
THEY WERE ABLE TO BUY A HOUSE IN DALTON
AND SOON STARTED A FAMILY,
AND IN 1998, SALAICES BECAME A U.S. CITIZEN,
BUT HIS WIFE HAD ONCE BEEN CAUGHT ENTERING THE COUNTRY
ILLEGALLY AND WAS INELIGIBLE FOR CITIZENSHIP.
Norberto Reyes: FOR THE LATINOS THAT WERE COMING IN TO THE AREA,
THEY NEED THE LATINO PRODUCTS, THE MEXICAN PRODUCTS,
SO SMALL STORES START OPENING UP,
BUTCHER SHOPS, PANADERIÍAS, CARNICERIÍAS.
EVERYTHING THAT WE NEEDED IN THAT TIME STARTED COMING IN,
SO THIS TOWN FLOURISHED BECAUSE OF LATINO BUSINESSES.
IS EVERYTHING OK?
YES, SIR.
ALL RIGHT.
GOOD, GOOD.
Narrator: BY THE YEAR 2000, THE POPULATION OF DALTON
HAD BECOME 40% MEXICAN, OVER 11,000 PEOPLE.
HOW YOU GUYS DOING?
IS EVERYTHING OK?
Reyes, voice-over: IN THE BOOM TIMES AND WITH AMNESTY,
A LOT OF PEOPLE BECAME LEGAL, AND THEY STAYED IN THE AREA,
AND NOW KIDS, THEIR KIDS NOW
THAT WENT THROUGH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM,
THEY SPEAK GOOD ENGLISH.
SO YOU START SEEING A MORE YOUNGER GENERATION
THAT ARE LEGAL, BORN AND RAISED IN THIS TOWN.
Alejandra Deharo: WHEN I WAS, LIKE, 13, 14,
WE STARTED SEEING ALL THE LATINOS COME INTO DALTON.
SO, TO US, THAT WAS AWESOME.
LIKE, YOU KNOW, OUR PEOPLE WERE COMING, YOU KNOW.
IT WAS MORE OF US,
AND YOU MADE MORE FRIENDS IN SCHOOL.
WE WERE ALL WELCOMED HERE.
[SALAICES SPEAKING SPANISH]
Narrator: JORGE SALAICES' FAMILY GREW TO INCLUDE 6 CHILDREN,
ALL BORN IN DALTON, ALL U.S. CITIZENS.
Salaices: MY TWO OLDEST DAUGHTERS, THEY'RE IN HIGH SCHOOL.
THEY HAVE GOOD GRADES.
THEY'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE BAND PROGRAMS
SINCE THEY WERE IN MIDDLE SCHOOL.
I'VE BEEN HERE 20-SOMETHING YEARS,
25, 26 YEARS, AND THIS IS HOME.
[TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWING]
Narrator: BUT THE BOOM TIMES THAT DREW
SO MANY IMMIGRANT FAMILIES TO DALTON WOULD NOT LAST.
A DECLINE IN HOUSING CONSTRUCTION COUPLED
WITH THE NATIONAL ECONOMIC SLUMP IN 2008
DEEPLY AFFECTED THE CARPET INDUSTRY.
THE MILLS BEGAN TO CUT BACK.
HUNDREDS WERE LAID OFF.
Deharo: IT SEEMS THAT THEY'VE BLAMED
THE LATINOS FOR A LOT OF THE UNEMPLOYMENT.
I'VE HEARD MANY TIMES THAT THEY SAY THAT
WE STOLE THEIR JOBS.
THINGS STARTED GETTING REALLY ROUGH HERE IN DALTON.
CARS THAT PASSED BY, THEY'D FLIP US OFF
AND TELL US TO GO BACK TO MEXICO, YOU KNOW,
CALL US ALL KINDS OF NAMES.
IT'S JUST AMAZING TO SEE HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED.
Narrator: IN THE SPRING OF 2011, THE STATE OF GEORGIA ENACTED
ITS OWN VERSION OF ARIZONA'S S.B.
1070.
ANYONE STOPPED WITHOUT A DRIVER'S LICENSE
OR PROOF OF LEGAL RESIDENCY COULD BE HANDED OVER
TO IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES.
Salaices: NORMALLY EVERY MORNING,
I WOULD TAKE ALL MY KIDS TO SCHOOL BEFORE I GO TO WORK.
THAT MORNING, I NEEDED TO GO IN A LITTLE BIT EARLY
BECAUSE WE HAD A BIG PROJECT,
SO I WENT IN AT 7:00, AND I ASKED THE KIDS
TO GO ON THE BUS.
UNFORTUNATELY, THEY DIDN'T MAKE IT TO THE BUS,
SO MY WIFE WIND UP DRIVING ONE TO SCHOOL
WHEN SHE GOT PULLED OVER BY THE POLICE.
Narrator: MRS. SALAICES HAD NO DRIVER'S LICENSE AND NO PAPERS.
SHE WAS HELD IN A FEDERAL DETENTION CENTER
IN ATLANTA FOR TWO MONTHS WHILE HER FAMILY AND THEIR ATTORNEY
APPEALED HER CASE.
SHE LOST AND WAS SENT BACK TO MEXICO.
Salaices: AND THIS-- THIS HAS CREATED
A BIG IMPACT ON MYSELF THAT I'M AN AMERICAN CITIZEN,
ON MY 6 CHILDREN THAT ARE AMERICAN CITIZENS.
HAVING SOMEBODY LIKE THAT TAKEN AWAY,
THEY TAKE YOUR WHOLE LIFE AWAY.
Marta Tienda: THIS IS THE TRAGEDY OF IMMIGRATION.
COUNTRIES WANT WORKERS, BUT THEY GET PEOPLE.
THEY GET FAMILIES,
AND SOMEHOW, WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO COME TO TERMS
WITH THAT AS A NATION.
WERE TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE WHO MAY HAVE DONE NOTHING MORE
THAN JAYWALKED WHO END UP GETTING
CAUGHT UP IN THIS MORASS,
AND THEY END UP HAVING THEIR LIVES RUINED
AND NOT JUST THEIR LIVES BUT THEIR FAMILIES' LIVES,
AND THAT, I THINK, IS REALLY NOT THE AMERICAN WAY.
Narrator: SINCE 2005, AN UNSTABLE ECONOMY
HAS SLOWED THE MIGRANT FLOW.
THE NUMBER OF MEXICANS ENTERING THE U.S.
ROUGHLY EQUALED
THE NUMBER OF THOSE WHO RETURNED TO MEXICO.
YET THERE ARE MORE THAN 11 MILLION UNDOCUMENTED LATINOS
STILL LIVING IN THE U.S., AND THEIR FUTURE IS UNCERTAIN.
Chávez: NOW I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH WEEDING THROUGH
THAT 11 MILLION PEOPLE AND FINDING PEOPLE
WHO HAVE BROKEN OTHER LAWS.
THEY SHOULD BE DEPORTED, BUT IF WE'RE TALKING
ABOUT PEOPLE WHO HAVE BUILT LIVES HERE,
WHO HAVE HAD, YOU KNOW, GOOD RECORDS,
WHO HAVE PAID THEIR TAXES, THEY ARE GOOD AMERICANS.
THEY ARE THE PEOPLE THAT WE SHOULD WANT HERE,
AND SO WE NEED TO COME UP WITH A SYSTEM
THAT GIVES THEM LEGAL STATUS.
THEY ARE OFTEN PART OF FAMILIES IN WHICH
THEY'RE NOT ALL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS.
MANY OF THEM ARE U.S. CITIZENS EITHER THROUGH NATURALIZATION
OR THROUGH HAVING BEEN BORN HERE.
THERE ARE ALSO A NUMBER OF THESE PEOPLE WHO ARE
CHILDREN WHO WERE BROUGHT HERE AS BABES IN ARMS.
THEY DIDN'T BREAK THE LAW.
THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO BREAK THE LAW.
THEY WERE UNDER THE AGE OF REASON,
AND YET WE HAVE THEM HERE.
Narrator: EVEN AS IMMIGRATION ISSUES DOMINATED THE HEADLINES
IN RECENT YEARS, LATINOS WERE TRANSFORMING
THE NATION, MAKING THEIR MARK IN EVERY SPHERE OF PUBLIC LIFE.
I AM SO PROUD TO BE YOUR MAYOR.
Narrator: IN 2005, ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA BECAME
THE FIRST MEXICAN-AMERICAN MAYOR
OF LOS ANGELES IN OVER A CENTURY.
FLY YOUR FLAG WITH PRIDE!
[APPLAUSE]
Narrator: IN 2010, MARCO RUBIO, A SECOND-GENERATION
CUBAN-AMERICAN, WAS ELECTED U.S.
SENATOR FROM FLORIDA.
I SONIA SOTOMAYOR DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR...
THAT I WILL...
AND A YEAR EARLIER, THE FIRST LATINA JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT
HAD BEEN SWORN IN.
UNDER THE CONSTITUTION AND LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES.
SO HELP ME GOD.
SO HELP ME GOD.
CONGRATULATIONS, AND WELCOME TO THE COURT.
[APPLAUSE]
Narrator: BORN IN THE BRONX TO A HUMBLE PUERTO RICAN FAMILY,
JUSTICE SONIA SOTOMAYOR HAD MADE HER WAY THROUGH PRINCETON, YALE,
AND A SERIES OF JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS
TO REACH THE PINNACLE OF HER PROFESSION...
BUT THERE ARE MILLIONS OF YOUNG LATINOS,
THE CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN OF IMMIGRANTS,
WHO ARE IN DANGER OF BEING LEFT BEHIND BY SOCIETY
AND COULD EASILY SLIDE INTO THE UNDERCLASS.
Tienda: THE CHILDREN OF IMMIGRANTS ARE
THE MAIN FACTOR DRIVING THE GROWTH OF THE UNITED STATES,
BUT FOR THAT TO BE A POSITIVE FACTOR
FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE FUTURE,
IT IS ABSOLUTELY INDISPENSABLE TO INVEST IN EDUCATION,
AND IF WE DON'T CAPITALIZE ON THIS OPPORTUNITY,
WE WILL LOSE WHAT I CALL THE HISPANIC MOMENT.
IN SOUTH FLORIDA, MIAMI DADE COLLEGE
IS THE LARGEST OF MANY INSTITUTIONS
AROUND THE COUNTRY FOCUSED ON THE HISPANIC MOMENT.
THE COLLEGE IS LED BY AN ALUMNUS DR. EDUARDO PADROÓN,
WHO HIMSELF HAD EMIGRATED FROM CUBA AT THE AGE OF 15.
Padrón: I CAME TO THIS COUNTRY AS A REFUGEE,
AND THE ONLY THING THAT GOT ME OUT OF POVERTY WAS EDUCATION.
MY MOTHER ALWAYS TOLD ME THAT'S THE ONLY THING
THAT NOBODY WILL BE ABLE TO TAKE AWAY FROM YOU.
AND I FOLLOWED THAT ADVICE, AND I MADE THROUGH ALL KINDS
OF SACRIFICES, WENT TO SCHOOL, WENT TO COLLEGE,
GOT A Ph.D.
IN ECONOMICS,
AND THEN THERE WAS A SENSE OF DUTY
THAT ASKED ME TO COME HERE AND DO THE SAME FOR OTHERS.
IF WE DON'T EDUCATE THE LATINO POPULATION
IN THE UNITED STATES, WE'RE MISSING
A TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY.
WE WILL LOSE OUR COMPETITIVENESS INTERNATIONALLY,
AND WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PROVIDE
THE STANDARD OF LIVING THAT PEOPLE LIKE ME
HAVE ENJOYED UP TO NOW.
Man: BELINDA GONZALEZ.
Woman: MELVIN RAPHAEL PEREIRA.
Man: CARLOS RAPHAEL RIVERA.
Padrón: THE EDUCATION OF LATINOS IN AMERICA TODAY,
IT'S SOMETHING THAT SHOULD NOT ONLY BE THE CONCERN
OF LATINOS BUT SHOULD BE THE CONCERN OF ALL AMERICANS.
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
Narrator: TODAY, HISPANICS MAKE UP ABOUT 1/6
OF THE U.S. POPULATION, NEARLY 51 MILLION PEOPLE.
BY THE MIDDLE OF THE CENTURY, THE LATINO POPULATION
IS EXPECTED TO REACH 127 MILLION,
NEARLY 30% OF THE PROJECTED POPULATION
OF THE COUNTRY.
Salinas: WE'RE A YOUNG COMMUNITY.
OUR MEDIAN AGE IS 26.
SO WE ARE THE FUTURE OF THIS COUNTRY.
Suarez: THERE'S A LOT AT STAKE FOR THE LATINO COMMUNITY
IN THE NEXT 10 OR 20 YEARS,
BUT THERE'S SO MUCH AT STAKE FOR ALL AMERICANS
IN HOW LATINOS IN THE UNITED STATES DO.
OUR FUTURE GROWTH AND MOMENTUM DEPENDS
ON THE CHILDREN WHO ARE BORN HERE
TO IMMIGRANTS AND TO THE SECOND GENERATION,
AND IF WE DON'T USE THAT FOUNDATION TO REBUILD OUR COUNTRY,
THEN WE'RE MISSING AN OPPORTUNITY.
Medina: WE ARE THE WORKERS OF TODAY AND TOMORROW,
WE ARE THE CONSUMERS OF TODAY AND OF TOMORROW,
AND NO COUNTRY CAN CONTINUE TO SURVIVE AND PROSPER
UNLESS IT MAKES FULL USE OF ALL THE TALENTS
AND SKILLS OF ITS POPULATION,
AND WE ARE A GROWING PART OF THAT POPULATION.
Estefan: I SEE IT AS THIS AMAZING QUILT
WITH ALL THESE DIFFERENT COLORED THREADS WEAVING
THIS COMMON STORY.
IT'S VERY CRUCIAL THAT WE KNOW WHO WE ARE,
WHERE WE COME FROM, AND WHAT IT'S BEEN LIKE.
I THINK THAT THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.
Lila Downs: ♫IT'S A MIGHTY LONG ROAD♫
♫THAT MY POOR HANDS HAVE HOED♫
♫MY POOR FEET HAVE TRAVELED♫
♫A LONG DUSTY ROAD♫
♫AT THE EDGE OF YOUR CITES♫
♫YOU WILL SEE US, AND THEN♫
♫WE COME WITH THE DUST♫
♫AND WE'RE GONE WITH THE WIND♫
♫THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND♫
♫AND MY LAND AND YOUR LAND♫
♫FROM CALIFORNIA♫
♫TO THE NEW YORK ISLANDS♫
♫THIS LAND IS MY LAND♫
♫AND YOUR LAND AND MY LAND♫
♫AND YOUR LAND, TOO♫
I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!
♫AND IT'S ALWAYS WE'VE♫
♫RAMBLED THIS RIVER♫
♫AND I, ALL ALONG YOUR GREEN VALLEYS♫
♫I WILL WORK TILL I DIE♫
♫AND THIS LAND I'LL DEFEND♫
♫WITH MY LIFE IF NEED BE♫
♫FOR MY PASTURES OF PLENTY♫
♫MUST ALWAYS BE FREE♫
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AND LEARN ABOUT LATINO HISTORY
AT PBS.ORG/LATINOAMERICANS
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"LATINO AMERICANS" IS AVAILABLE
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THE COMPANION BOOK
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OR CALL US AT 1-800-PLAY-PBS.
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