Latino Americans

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 AQUI, PARA LLEVAR?

EVERY FORM, EVERY SERVICE

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 SI, 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 Padrn: 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.

Padrn: 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

THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: OF THE UNITED STATES,

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]

Mara Cristina Garca: 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."

Garca: 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.

Garca: 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 Chvez: 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.

Garca: 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

Mara 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 MARIA SALINAS.

Narrator: SINCE 1988, MARIA 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.

MARIA SALINAS.

NICE TO SEE YOU, MARIA.

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.

Chvez: 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, "SI 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, "SI 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, PANADERIAS, CARNICERIAS.

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.

Chvez: 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 PADRON,

WHO HIMSELF HAD EMIGRATED FROM CUBA AT THE AGE OF 15.

Padrn: 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.

Padrn: 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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