30 Days: Immigration

First we meet Frank. He is a member of the Minutemen guarding the Mexican/American border. His parents immigrated here legally from Cuba when he was 7. He believes all illegal immigrants should be sent back to Mexico until they can come back legally. He believes our government has done an terrible job dealing with immigration. (And this was part of the reason 9/11 occurred.)

Then we meet the family with whom he must live for 30 days. Two of the children were born here and are citizens, but the parents and 3 older children are still here illegally. They live in a tiny apartment. The father works odd jobs making very little money; the mother recycles to make money. Armeida, the daughter who is graduating high school, is smart and articulate and has high hopes for her future.

Armeida and Frank argue about amnesty, the process of becoming “legal,” and what the immigrant protestors’ really are trying to accomplish. Frank sees it as take-over situation in which America will no longer exist if we continue to handle illegals as we do. Armeida believes that Frank doesn’t understand how unacceptable and impossible it would be for 3 million people to “go back and get legal.” It’s nowhere near that simple. The father believes he is doing jobs that Americans would only do for $35 an hour. Frank believes the father is only reinforcing his own poverty.

Then Frank travels to Mexico to see where the Gonzales family used to live and meet their relatives.

You HAVE to see this episode. Although Frank’s arguments seem to make sense logically (at least up until he goes to Mexico), getting to know this particular family and their situation humanizes the issue in a way that he’s never thought before. I pretty much cried through most of the last half of the show.

Next week, Chris, a former computer programmer, lives in Bangalore with people just like those he was forced to train to take his job when it was outsourced.