On December 20, 2011 Americas Society hosted the New York premiere and screening of ELVIRA (Javier Solórzano Casarín2009). The Mexican documentary film ELVIRA tells the story of Elvira Arellano, an undocumented mother that became an well known activist for migrants rights. A panel discussion was moderated by Shamina de Gonzaga, co-founder of what moves you? The panel included the Mexican filmmaker as well as the Executive Director of Families for Freedom (who were involved in the support of Elvira Arellano’s case).  The discussion opened a dialogue about the role of migrant activism and the role of cinema in activism, both particularly relevant topics given the Occupy Wall Street movement in NYC and around the world.

The discussion, facilitated by Shamina de Gonzaga and Gala Narezo of what moves you?, opened a dialogue focusing on how teachers might use the film to teach on topics of migration, the challenges that children face on journeys between countries, and connections between the lives of the kids in their classroom with those of the kids shown in the film.

Many teachers commented on particular video clips that might be useful for their classroom. The group also speculated on the fate of the children in the film, a discussion that may be particularly relevant to open in classrooms. Following the release of the film, the NY Times followed up on one of the kids in the film who gained asylum in the US.

The Indocumentales program Resources page includes links to a UW-Madison website featuring commentary and resources on Which Way Home.

The film was followed by comments by Professor Judy Hellman, CLACS Visiting Professor and Professor of Anthropology at York University in Canada. She is the author of author of The World of Mexican Migrants and Mexican Lives. Hellman made connections between  economic and political change in Mexico he growth of undocumented migration to the United States, which affected communities such as Farmingville, NY.

The discussion, facilitated by Shamina de Gonzaga and Gala Narezo of what moves you?, then opened up to explore ways this film might be taught in classrooms. Teachers offered feedback on clips that are particularly relevant, challenges they may face in teaching these controversial topics, and opportunities to make linkages to existing curriculum.

The Indocumentales program Resources page includes links to PBS teaching materials for Farmingville. The PBS site also has a video interview with the films directors, Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini. The POV materials also gave rise to the Farmingville Campaign, a project of Active Voice which aims to help communities begin or deepen discussions about immigration, racism, national identity and the democratic process.

Indocumentales Video from UW-Madison

This project uses documentaries as a means to engage wide audience interest in a complex topic, such as immigration. The five-week outreach effort was a partnership between LACIS (Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian Studies) and the Memorial Library, at the University of Wisconsin. Screenings of films and discussion sessions were combined with a “History of Mexican/US immigration and border issues” exhibit open to the campus. The Ibero-American Studies Librarian curated the exhibit and created an online research guide (available via web) covering two-hundred years of immigration. A promotional effort was added to attract a target audience of K-12 teachers, UW students and faculty, community activists, public opinion leaders and the general public. Indocumentales (5 documentaries and a resource guide), was developed by CLACS at New York University in collaboration with advocacy NGOs. Which Way Home?, focused on child workers attempting to enter the US, while, Los Que Se Quedan, looked at the Mexican families left behind. Other films such as, Al Otro Lado and Farmingville, examined hot-button topics like, drugs, immigration laws, and fights between groups seeking to remove undocumented workers from communities. Each screening was followed by a discussion with special guests including academics, immigration lawyers and community activists. A salient theme of the five-week period was that each documentary introduced a complex issue using a thoughtful story a wider audience could digest. We believe this contributed to a more constructive discussion while providing valuable data to the audience. The dialogues were taped and edited for analysis (This footage can be viewed in the video player above).

Image via Wikipedia

A recent New York Times article and video segment discusses the changes that are occurring near the U.S./Mexico border.  The once permeable border utilized by seasonal migrants has shifted into a militarized area saturated by violence and poverty.  While less people are taking the risk to cross, the Obama administration is deporting a record number to places like Tijuana.  Most deportees cannot afford to go back to their home towns and others that have families in the U.S. cannot afford the steep coyote price to cross again.  The result is a growing population that becomes stranded at the border and often falls prey to drug addiction or to the drug gangs that rule the border.

Mexican Immigrants Repeatedly Brave Risks to Resume Lives in United States – NYTimes.com.

Image by acnatta via Flickr

On Wednesday, September 28, 2011, U.S. District Judge Sharon Blackburn, a Republican appointee, upheld several sections of Alabama’s new immigration law:

1) a section allowing law enforcement officials to question suspected people on their legal status, and hold them without bond (effective immediately) and

2) a section requiring schools (beginning Thursday) to determine the legal status of students when they enroll,

although the state insists that children will not be turned away from attending school, a Christian Monitor Science article discusses the impact of this new provision:

“… even though they’re permitting the children to come to school, they’re creating this situation where they’re not likely to go to school,” says Rosemary Salamone, a law professor at St. John’s University in Jamaica, N.Y.

3)  Along with the provisions above, businesses are required to use E-Verify to confirm a hire’s eligibility to work.

4)  It is now a felony for an undocumented immigrant to do business with the state (i.e. obtaining a drivers license)  and it will be a misdemeanor for an undocumented resident not to have immigration papers.

5)   Judge Blackburn also upheld Section 27, which prohibits state courts from enforcing contracts between undocumented immigrants and parties that are aware of their undocumented status.

A Huffington Post article says Alabama’s Hispanic population grew by 145 percent over the last decade but still only represents around 4 percent of the population, though there are many schools in northern Alabama where most of the students are Hispanic.

Some Alabama police officers are worried about the lack of funds, facilities, and man power to enforce this new law while school officials are concerned about school drop out rates and the requirement to report numbers to the state.  The new law also is effecting Alabama farmers who say they will be unable to harvest their crops without the essential migrant labor and others say it will be more difficult to rebuild Alabama’s infrastructure destroyed by April’s tornadoes without the undocumented work force.

On Thursday, September 29th, the American Civil Liberties Union, Southern Poverty Law Center and other organizations asked Judge Blackburn for a hold on the provisions while they pursue an appeal.

[Rosa's new lawyer] Bryce Benjet argued several claims in his writ – including that Jimenez should be declared innocent, that prosecutorial misconduct marred the original trial, and that Jimenez was denied due process because she was not given access to funds to hire her own experts to testify at her 2005 trial, where she had ineffective legal representation.

Baird disagreed that Jimenez should be granted relief based on actual innocence or on prosecutorial misconduct claims but agreed she should be given relief based on her due process and ineffective assistance claims. … Baird’s ruling now goes to the Court of Criminal Appeals, which will decide whether to affirm his ruling and grant Jimenez relief.

As of the date of this post, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has not yet made a decision.

The article gives credit to Latino and immigrant reform groups for garnering enough pressure on the administration to prompt this announcement – which highlights the impact and importance of immigrant organizations, like the community of Mexican immigrants in SIXTH SECTION, who are working together to improve their lives and empower their future.

***

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration announced on Thursday it will do a case-by-case review of deportations, allowing many undocumented immigrants without criminal records to stay in the United States indefinitely and apply for work permits.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will send a letter on Thursday to Senate members who had asked for details on how the agency would prioritize its immigration enforcement. The policy change is meant as a framework to help prevent non-priority undocumented immigrants from “clogging the system,” senior administration officials said on a conference call with reporters Thursday.

First, the agency will look at its pending immigration cases and close the low-priority cases, so immigration courts can focus on the most serious ones, administration officials said. The low-priority cases can be reopened if circumstances require. Next, guidance will be given to immigration enforcement agents to help them better detect serious criminals and other high-priority undocumented immigrants.

Undocumented immigrants whose cases are closed will be allowed to apply for work permits, but will not be given them automatically, officials said.

The move was perhaps meant to combat harsh criticism from Latino groups and immigration reform advocates, who have rebuked President Obama for continuing to deport undocumented people at record rates, while at the same time insisting he supports immigration reform.

Although the Obama administration has repeatedly said its deportation policies focus on the “worst of the worst,” immigrant rights groups say enforcement agents still net a large number of non-criminal undocumented people.

The administration had earlier attempted to defend its record on Tuesday, with a blog post meant to “set the record straight” on the Secure Communities enforcement program.

Cecilia Munoz, White House director of Intergovernmental Affairs, wrote that more than half of all removals are of people with criminal records. Among non-criminals, most of those removed were apprehended crossing the border, had recently arrived in the United States or had been previously deported, she wrote.

“Those statistics matter,” Munoz wrote. “While we have more work to do, the statistics demonstrate that the strategy DHS put in place is working.”

The administration earlier tried to clarify its immigration enforcement policies in a June memo, which specifically recommended prosecutorial discretion. That memo cited the possibility of considering whether a person under removal proceedings would otherwise be eligible for the DREAM Act, an un-passed bill that would allow some undocumented young people to gain legal status in exchange for two years of college or military service.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), one of the key supporters of the DREAM Act, applauded the administration’s decision Thursday.

“The Obama Administration has made the right decision in changing the way they handle deportations of DREAM Act students,” Durbin said. “These students are the future doctors, lawyers, teachers and, maybe, senators, who will make America stronger. We need to be doing all we can to keep these talented, dedicated, American students here, not wasting increasingly precious resources sending them away to countries they barely remember.

Durbin pledged to “closely monitor DHS” to ensure the new policy would be implemented.

But increased discretion on the part of administration prosecutors may not be enough to please advocacy groups, many of which argue the administration should abolish certain enforcement programs altogether.

“In order to fulfill its promises, the administration must end policies like Secure Communities that result in the criminalization of innocent immigrants who are Americans in Waiting like those who came before them,” said Chris Newman, legal director of the National Day Laborers Organizing Network, in an email statement. “The administration has pursued policies that are sowing fear and devastation among immigrant communities, and it must reverse course to stop the Arizonification of the country,” he added, referencing Arizona’s strict immigration enforcement policies.

via New Policy On Deportations Allows Some Non-Criminal Undocumented Immigrants To Stay.

Image by j valas images via Flickr

Each film in the Indocumentales Series has one thread in common: the hope for a better life.

This thread continues to unite undocumented children that are brought or sent here by their parents.  These children grow up in the United States, they learn English, watch American television and become a part of the American culture.  Most of them have no idea that they are considered “illegal” until they take the natural American step of thinking about their future and are shocked to learn their opportunities are suddenly very limited.  According to a New York Times article, “In 2008, about 65,000 illegal immigrants graduated from American high schools, but only 5 percent went on to college…”

In 2001 a bipartisan effort created the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act to help such children continue living their American dreams. The DREAM Act journey has just hit its ten year anniversary and there have been many amendments and changing sponsors throughout the years.  Here is a breakdown of the 2011 version from multiamerican.scpr.org:

• The age cap for applicants, which was reduced to age 29 last year, has been bumped back up to 35 years of age or younger
• The length of conditional legal status before applicants may obtain permanent legal resident status has been reduced to six years, as in an earlier version, from 10 years
• This version would, as did an earlier version (but not the House-approved one), seek to repeal a ban on in-state tuition rates for beneficiaries

Cover of El Norte [Region 4

Indocumentales hosted a screening of Gregory Nava’s El Norte on Tuesday, August 9^th at 92YTribeca.  El Norte, first presented in 1983, is about two siblings, Rosa and Enrique who migrate from Guatemala to the United States after their father is killed and their mother is taken away by their government.

Though their story is fiction, their journey is filled with hope and many struggles not unlike 40,000 Guatemalan refugees.  After the screening, Shamina de Gonzaga, co-founder of Indocumentales moderated a discussion with panelists Mary Jo Toll of Sisters of Notre Dame at the United Nations and Carlos Gutiérrez, co-founder of Cinema Tropical on how things have and have not changed for migrants in the 28 years since this film was released.

Mary Jo relayed to the audience that through her work she has learned that things have not changed very much for migrants.  Many South and Central Americans still face racism in Mexico and the US and people are still fleeing their countries due to human rights issues but due to the current US situation on immigration it is very hard to gain asylum.  She noted that the anti-immigrant sentiment in the US and elsewhere is in great part fueled by well-financed propaganda misinforming people about the reality of migrants’ contributions in their countries of destination.  She expressed the importance of migrants to the US economy, not only do migrants take on jobs that are extremely strenuous but there are a substantial number that create small businesses in the US. She reported that many work in horrible conditions and live in fear of other co-workers who threaten to report them to Immigration.  Unfortunately, she said many politicians are unaware of the conditions of labor camps.  She also briefly discussed the US’ fickle policy toward immigration throughout history.  A once porous border, which allowed migrant workers to come to the US to work and then return home is no longer possible now that the border has been militarized.

Carlos discussed the many ways media has handled the immigrant experience.  Today there are many documentaries about the migrants who travel from South and Central America.  Carlos addressed how migrants are consistently portrayed as victims even to this day – and how El Norte, despite presenting a favorable image of the characters’ indigenous culture in Guatemala, subsequently presents them in a patronizing light later on in the film – what is lacking are films that present the migrants with equal empowerment and dignity.  Carlos also mentioned the recent fictional film Sin Nombre which has a similar story line but is a much brutal version to El Norte‘s magic realism.  Carlos said crossing is much more dangerous now as migrants are either kidnapped and/or killed by drug cartels.

Participants questioned what services could be made available to aid families that have been separated due to deportation of one family member and noted that existing governmental services are already overstretched and in some instances the involvement of the authorities can be more harmful than helpful.