Unity in the Community in collaboration with George Mason University, Prince William Campus
University Life presents – Crossing the Line: An Immigration Film Series at the Verizon Auditorium at George Mason University’s Prince William Campus

Saturday, August 16 at 7:30 pm – a double feature
Alienated: Undocumented Immigrant Youth
This film is about undocumented immigrant youth facing the challenges of life after high school without options for legalized work or college
Beyond the Border
Latinos seeking a better life have migrated to Kentucky, for low-paying jobs in the tobacco, manufacturing and horse racing industries. As Latino communities swell, so does the xenophobia and discrimination they face.

Sunday, August 17 at 2:30 pm
Under the Same Moon
The reunion of 9-year-old Carlitos and his mother Rosario, Who works as an illegal domestic in Los Angeles.

69 Thoughts to “Immigration Film Series this Weekend”

  1. Cindy B

    Thanks for posting this, Alanna. One of last week’s films, “Ramchand Pakistani” is not even in release in this country, and drew people who could explain during the discussion afterwards some of the Muslim customs in the film.

    Next week’s films in the series are “Farmingville” and “Nema Problema,” and the organizers said the director of one of the films will be there to answer questions.

    The films are free, and the discussions afterward are facilitated by students from GMU’s ICAR (Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution).

  2. Poor Richard

    Even to a casual observer, it is obvious that these are propaganda films
    intended to champion one side of a complex and nuanced issue. They
    add little to a healthy, candid and balanced civic dialogue.

    GMU’s ICAR would better serve the community by being an even handed
    “honest broker”.

    I don’t care for GL and HSM’s myopic views, but, alas, you risk
    become simply a mirror image.

  3. DiversityGal

    Poor Richard,

    No matter what points of view the varied filmmakers convey through the films included in this series, I believe it it the discussion afterward that is important. Whether you are watching a documentary or a fictional film made for artistic purposes, a lot of great discussion on all sides of the immigration issue can be generated (if people on all sides of the issue make the choice to attend). It’s not really that different than discussing media such as books, film, or articles in a college class.

  4. Poor Richard, why don’t you go and discuss your point of view after?

  5. Alanna

    It’s a local film series concerning immigration, I don’t know, I thought some people that visit the site might be interested. And, of course it has a perspective, is it the same as as showing people pictures of homes in disrepair and dead rats and damanding that they ‘HELP SAVE MANASSAS’? I personally don’t think so. But, I suppose both might be considered propoganda.

  6. Isn’t anything pretty much propaganda? Television ads? The Media? Organizations? If it’s opinion or perspective, it can easily be labeled propaganda.

  7. NotGregLetiecq

    Why pre-judge if it’s propaganda? Go and see for yourself, Poor Richard. Don’t be so afraid of new ideas. Try to be open instead of alarmed.

  8. Censored bybvbl

    Poor Richard, if it’s the other side you want more of, there’s always “Border War: The Battle Over Illegal Immigration”. It’s a conservative point of view and available on Netflix.

    Here’s a fairly extensive list of films about immigration from Berkeley’s website. I don’t know what the points of view are…maybe liberal. We’re talking Berkeley here – although my husband’s father, an Air Force officer, attended Berkeley.

    http://www.iir.berkeley.edu/immigration/teachers/films.html#race

  9. g.stone

    You have already become Hacks for the cause of Illegals through the dissemination of half truths and propaganda. You have taken intellectual dishonesty to a whole new level.
    The damage is done.

  10. Censored bybvbl

    G.stone, why don’t you show a little more intellectual honesty and a bit less generality. Who’s “you”? What half truths and propaganda? What damage? Why don’t you do more than a drive-by and add some detail.

    Have you been to any of the films or seen any of them elsewhere?

    The truth shall set you free…haha.

  11. Leila

    g.stone appears to have taken lack of specificity “to a whole new level.” What half truths? What intellectual dishonesty?

  12. Anonymoose

    kgotthardt and DiversityGal,
    How about you come on out to a “Help Save Manassas” meeting and do the same?

    Poor Richard – you should know better. This foum is full of people who try to present themselves as neutral but “champion one side of a complex and nuanced issue”. Just look at that take your responses.

    Many people think it’s propaganda based on the (anti)blog which is promoting it. I’m sure it’s just as neutral as 9500 Liberty.

    //I’ll catch it on youtube when it shows up next week.

  13. Poor Richard

    It would be a waste of time to watch your “Poor Little Immigrant Victims” movies or
    HSM’s documentary “Every Immigrant Is Vile and Evil !!” They both have
    little value and impact except for those who already agree with them.

    I would like to see a non-biased GMU economic study of the impact of
    illegal immigration on the City of Manassas. What are the cost
    to the community and who pays? It may be challenging to get concrete
    data from schools, medical facilites and social workers because of
    legal issues, but researchers should be able to come close. Yes,
    there may be a small group of bigots here, but the core of this
    isn’t hate or racism — it is economics.

  14. Anonymoose

    correction:
    not: Just look at that take your responses.

    Just thake a look at THEIR responses…

  15. Anonymoose

    I do agree that BVBL also goes off the deep end sometimes when they post crimes of illegal aliens. I do believe in following the law. If the law is bad, then organize. But we shouldnt try to find ways to or promote breaking the law in the meantime until said law changes.

  16. NotGregLetiecq

    Anonymoose, how would you change the law if you were given the power to do so?

  17. Elvis

    leila,

    you are another lost in the woods liberal upset that soon she’s going to lose the illegal alien slaves mowing her lawn and cleaning her house after they all get deported.

  18. Moon-howler

    Actually, I believe that Alanna just made an announcement. I don’t think she endorsed the films or even offered an opinion.

    Why is this controversial and getting down to an ‘us and them’ situation? I find it strange that so many people see immigration as one side or the other. It is such a complex issue to be chiseled down into a 2 dimensional discussion.

  19. If the law is bad, why not just ignore it?

    The police do.

    The judges do.

    The politicians do.

    Are we saying we’re less than them and they are more than us? Isn’t that the definition of royalty?

  20. Anonymoose, I’ve watched them on video and read their materials. I’ve heard them speak at Citizen Time. I’ve given them my time.

    You missed some interesting movies and discussions.

  21. Elena

    Poor Richard,
    You may want to do some research on the Council for Foreign Relatons website http://www.cfr.org/ I have found very detailed and well researched articles that address these concerns. This organization is clearly non partisan and yet almost everything I have read, clearly indicates that you will do more harm than good, attemptimg to expell 12 million undocumented persons. I was wondering, you seem very negative towards anti, has something changed for you? Your posts in the beginning were great, I especially loved the Baltimore Sun article that showed the exact same rhetoric and language directed at the Italians mirroring the attacks against Latino’s.

    There is no us or them in my mind regarding illegal immigration. I believe, from all I have learned, there are many layers to this issue, and no simple answer will suffice. Having said that, I think that it is imperative, to deal with the “on the ground” impacts that many neighborhoods have experienced. Were it not for this culture clashes, I seriously doubt we would be hearing so much about “illegal” immigration.

  22. Moon-howler

    Yes Poor Richard, you do seem very down on the anti-blog recently. What has changed?

  23. Red Dawn

    He won the lotto…I heard about the curse and still play 🙂

  24. Censored by bvbl

    I would like to see a non-biased GMU economic study of the impact of
    illegal immigration on the City of Manassas. What are the cost
    to the community and who pays? It may be challenging to get concrete
    data from schools, medical facilites and social workers because of
    legal issues, but researchers should be able to come close. Yes,
    there may be a small group of bigots here, but the core of this
    isn’t hate or racism — it is economics.

    Why don’t you ask them to do this, Poor Richard? To be fair, the study would have to include benefits that the community receives as well as the effects of the sub-prime, No-Doc, Low-Doc mortgage mess.

  25. Marie

    Poor Richard,
    Look at some of the economics.

    Let’s look at some economics.

    With all the emphasis placed on how much undocumented immigrants are costing
    there is a side of the immigration story that often goes untold. Another side to the story is equally important: contributions that undocumented immigrants make to state resources in the form of payroll,income, property, sales and excise taxes.

    The Commonwealth Institute reported that Virginia’s undocumented population earn between $3.0 billion and $3.5 billion in wages per year. They pay between $380 million and $450 million in taxes either directly or through their employers. Their tax contributions include an estimated total of between $145 million and $174 million in state income taxes, sales and excise taxes, and property taxes. The report also estimates that undocumented immigrants working on the books pay an additional $114 million to $137 million in Social Security, and Medicare taxes, which are matched by their employers. There is a belief that undocumented immigrants don’t pay any taxes and this simply is not true.

    Illinois did a report a few years back that states basically the same economic contributions by undocumented that the Commonwealth Institute in Virgnia reports. I assume this could possibly hold true for the nation.

  26. Poor Richard

    Undocumented immigrants, as a group, do not pay their share of LOCAL expenses
    in Virginia with their taxes. That is a hard fact.

    – The major LOCAL tax is on property – housing.
    – The major LOCAL expense is public education.

    – If more children come from the same number of housing units in a
    community – your cost go up, but not your revenue. The cost is
    magnified if the children don’t speak English and require smaller
    classes. Economics 101.

    – To continue to pretend the undocumented don’t place a financial
    burden on LOCAL jurisdictions in Virginia is simply false and stands
    in the way of constructive dialogue.

  27. Poor Richard

    Moon-howler,
    I’m not so much down on this blog as frustrated with the way
    it often mimics BVBL with its ideological certainty and impatience with
    dissenting views.

  28. Censored bybvbl

    Poor Richard, I’ve heard estimates of overcrowded housing stock in PWC and Manassas City being as low as one percent of the housing stock and as high as three or four percent. Anyway, it’s an insignificant number. Many of the housing complaints we’ve heard are about single men occupying houses – no mention of children in these cases. It would be best to track whether the number of school children per housing unit in the City/County has increased each year or whether we are just seeing a population increase in general as a result of increased housing units.

  29. Chris

    Censored,
    I just went back to post a Quarterly Report from Neighborhood Services. Unfortunately, the links to the presentations are NO longer available for viewing online. I have some of them printed out. You are correct about the small percetage of overcrowding complaints. Other presentations are available. Why would these no longer be available for all to view after the fact. I also, noticed some of the VDOT regular presentations aren’t available either. Why would these be taken down?

  30. Censored bybvbl

    Chris, I haven’t checked the County’s website regularly but I did notice some changes a couple weeks ago. I don’t know if they’re just in the process of updating or what the story is.

  31. Chris

    Censored,
    The interesting thing to me was most presentations are still there. However, immigration presentations weren’t there for viewing either. I look at all of them for the last year. This is very odd. Remember, last year Manassas Park City Council got called for altering information.

  32. Moon-howler

    I think lots of old archives were lost with the new improved website. I haven’t adusted yet. It is me, not website. I don’t do change well.

  33. Cindy B

    I was incorrect in my earlier post. Next week’s films in the series are “Farmingville” and “La Americana.” Nicholas Bruckman, the director of “La Americana” will be there from New York for the post film discussion and the closing reception of the film series.

    Honestly, the films are just films like you’d see on any college campus — forums to stimulate an exchange of ideas and discussion. ICAR students facilitate the discussions afterward so people feel safe to express viewpoints with some ground rules so no one feels intimidated.

    Come watch “Under the Same Moon” today at 2:30 pm. It recently closed in theatrical release and is available for renting on DVD, but come see for yourself and join in the discussion. It’s free.

  34. Moon-howler

    Poor Richard has said:

    I’m not so much down on this blog as frustrated with the way
    it often mimics BVBL with its ideological certainty and impatience with
    dissenting views.

    PR,

    I actually think that is very valid criticism and something each of us probably needs to think about. I know I could always choose a more patient response, or …not respond. As for idealogical certainty, I understand where you are coming from there also. I wish you would point it out when it happens. If we truly want to be representative of the mainstream, we need to make sure we embrace it.

    That is not to say that people who might be beyond the mainstream do not have a voice but I do believe one of our goals was originally to provide a middle ground between extremes. I hope we are still there. Please remind us when we aren’t.

    I believe balance should always be strived for. Thanks for your response.

  35. Lucky Duck

    Poor Richard and Censored, it is so easy to go around and round with the cost and benefit analysis of the impact of illegal immigrants and never, ever get a straight answer or the true cost.

    We know that they pay sales taxes – they have to eat and by clothes like everyone else, we know that at least some pay real estate taxes.

    Of course, the other side is that there ARE additional expenses for those here illegally.

    Censored, even if the over crowding complaints are at 4 % of housing, that is still over 5000 residences in the county being complained about (number of residences in Pr. William County is available from Metro. Council of Governments – about 170,000 in PWC in 2007, so 4% is a little over 5000). So I would not consider that number “insignificant”, particulary if they were in your neighborhood or mine. Also, regarding Poor Richard’s education economics, ask yourself how many ESOL teachers the County had in 1990 and how many there are today and how much more the expense is. Sure, some legal residents need ESOL, but so do illegal immigrants and that is a burdened expense to the local schools and taxpayers that is required simply by their presence.

    That Commonwealth Institute of Virginia you quoted estimates that half, yes, half of illegal or undocumented immigrants pay Federal or State Income taxes – which means it is estimated that 1/2 of illegal immigrants pay nothing. So who wins there? The State or Feds get money from 1/2 the illegal population and keeps their money but the other 1/2 get a free ride.

    Too many studies to fit too many agendas and which ones are true?

  36. Censored bybvbl

    Lucky Duck, I do think that localities bear the burden of the federal government’s inaction. And 5000 residences is a large number. The local governments put the number at less than 3-4% now but that is still a large number if the overcrowded residence is next to you. (I’m thinking 1% is the more accurate number now.) Although the problem houses may be found in any subdivision, many are concentrated in particular areas of older housing – so many residents are totally unaffected by overcrowding and some residents are acutely effected.

    Has the ESOL enrollment increased at the same pace as the population increase in the county or has it increased at a faster pace?

  37. Lucky Duck

    Censored, good question about the ESOL enrollment increasing at the same pace as the population increase but I don’t know the answer. But for the figure to be accurate, it would have to be tied to the LEGAL population and there is no way for this to be done because the schools cannot question legal status. Simply comparing the increase in ESOL teachers to the total population increase does not take into account those who illegal and – and that figure (who is not legal) would give us a more accurate cost of providing ESOL to non-citizens or illegal aliens, which would show a direct cost or impact of the illegal immigration problem.

  38. Censored bybvbl

    Lucky Duck, until the federal government offers any help or changes its requirements, the localities will have to provide schooling and emergency room care. There’s no way for the localities to cut that cost as far as I know. As an aside, if we had no illegal immigrants, I wonder what percentage of native-born patients have no insurance to pay for their hospital costs.

  39. Lucky Duck

    I agree with you. My point was that each side tries to point out either the benefits or the costs of illegal immigration and how they do or do not pay a fair share. Even that study you quoted from the Commonwealth Institute of Va. that extolled the money illegal immigrants put into the system then went on and estimated that 1/2 of them pay no federal or state income taxes. How is that for a reputable group to play both sides of the fence? So even that study is torn in two. There is no consensus on the actual cost.

  40. Censored bybvbl

    I think Marie quoted that study although I’ve seen it and may have posted it in the past. I’d be curious how badly the local hospital thinks non-payers have effected its profit.

    A Southern town with which I’m familiar – I lived for a decade in that region – followed new state law that disallowed illegal immigrants from using some benefits offered by its health clinic (not the emergency room). They offered the services to undocumented people if they paid and found that the majority did indeed pay.

    http://www.daltondailycitizen.com/archivesearch/local_story_259231026.html

  41. But immigration itself has increased. Remember Colgan citing the people from El Salvador who came here as refugees? There was some huge number of those folks who settled here in PWC. Also, since we live in the DC Metro area, we can assume we will have large numbers of immigrants. Cities attract immigrants, but the nation’s capitol attracts even more. So you can’t prove ESOL stats using the illegal immigration argument, especially, as you point out, the schools don’t deal with citizenship status (nor should they have to).

    We also should remember that many, many illegal immigrants DO pay taxes and social security. You can’t ignore that population even if we don’t know who they are. You also can’t ignore the fact that many in that status don’t file for tax returns–they just keep paying into the system. For all we know, they have paid their dues fifteen times over.

  42. Lucky Duck

    Kgotthardt, I did not dispute that illegal immigrants pay taxes and social security. I was merely stating that both sides use the “positive financials” and the “expense financials” of illegal immigrants and that both agendas use statistics for their arguments and there are so many studies that seem to justify both sides.

    Did you read my post above where I pointed out that the exact same study used by Marie (sorry Censored) at 8:30 AM that extolled the money illegal immigrants put into the economy estimates that 50% of illegal immigrants do not pay Federal or State Income taxes, which would include Social Security taxes. So 1/2 pay and the government keeps their money and 1/2 do not pay any Fed/State Income taxes according to the same study used to bolster the claim that illegal immigrants pay their share.

    That’s my point, one study saying supporting two different arguments, as each agend searches for.

  43. DB

    Regardless of taxes, I think that a point raised in the first movie is…what should the USA do for the foreign born children who were brought here as minors. I and many of my collegues have encountered such children and we worry about what is to become of them as they reach majority and graduate from local high schools. Many on this site might want to lament their parents for their failure to pay taxes..but the fact is that these students were brought here as minors, they attended school in the US, the US is the only country they know. Many are barely bilingual, and barely are the least bit biliterate. Imagine being illegally brought to this country when you were 3yrs by your parents. You go to school, learn English, never visit the country of your birth, are marginally bilingual, and 15 years later you turn 18, graduate from a US high school, and you discover that you have no options. What are the avenues for these children? Where do they go? Can they apply for a green card? I ask because I do not know. But if anyone has an idea for an amnesty program, I firmly believe that these are the people the US should focus on first. They can provide birth certs and school records, and they are here thru no other reason than their parents. They deserve to stay.

  44. Lucky Duck

    No, they cannot apply for a green card.

  45. DB

    That’s all you have to say? No advice, no alternatives?
    Grow up here as an illegal minor child, and essentially be screwed by the fact that once you turn 18 you are eligible for deportation. If the govt allows these children to be enrolled in public schools, and once they graduate the students are essentially deportable, why are they counted toward the AYP scores? If their parents pay no taxes, and even if they do, why does the fed govt and the St of Va count their grad scores toward AYP. If the State of Va wants to be truly fair then maybe they should remove all foreign born/soon to be deported students from the feds ayp rolls.

  46. Lucky Duck

    You stated an opinion and asked the question if they were eligible for a green card and I answered it.

    The government “allows” these children to be enrolled in public school because of a 1982 Supreme Court decision (Plyer) that stated all children in the United States, regardless of legal status, must be afforded an education and I agree with that. Its not that the government “allows” them to attend, and I am not so sure that if the Supreme Court didn’t force them to do so that they would.

    What do you think Corey Stewart would have done if he had the authority to deny illegal immigrants a public school education? So the government has been forced to do something by the Supreme Court for the overall good of society.

    The court’s decision does not, obviously, apply to a college education.

  47. Moon-howler

    DB,

    There is no advice. Those kids are screwed. They cannot go to most colleges or universities. I believe they can go to NOVA and pay out of state tuition. (not positive on that one) They cannot work legally. I don’t know of any way they can get a driver’s license. No, it isn’t their fault.

    On the one hand, some who shall go unnamed, but will probably show up here to gloat, will say Good! That serves their parents right for coming here illegally. On the other hand, those kids had no say-so and I am not willing to say the sins of the father will be visited upon the son…or however it goes. These same kids may have siblings who are perfectly legal and who can go to college, get a job, etc because they were born here.

    Perhaps these are the new throw-away kids. It is a damn shame and I sincerely hope they are included in any type of immigration reform that is on the horizon. I will fight for those kids to have a chance if they have worked hard in school and have kept their noses clean.

  48. Lucky Duck

    The legislation that attempted to address this issue was/is called “the dream act” which would have allowed individuals in these situations be permitted to pay in state tuition at colleges, among other points. It would also have set up a path to citizenship for those students who qualified and fulfilled all of the required provisions. Unfotunately, in typical congressional style, it was loaded up with several provisions that caused the usual political bickering. It would have allowed people who were brought to the US illegally before the age of 15 and were between the ages of 12 and 30 (?) at the time the law was enacted to qualify.

    Of course, raising the age to 30 by the amnesty crowded set off the anti-amnesty crowd as did the future ability of the students to bring their relatives to the US to apply for citizenship once they had attained it themselves.

    It has been defeated several times in the Congress.

  49. Emma

    I think what many people struggle with is the idea that if you give these kids a pass, in the form of in-state tuition, drivers licenses, etc. then you create more incentive for people to come here illegally, and so it goes, on and on. I don’t know how you can reconcile the issue to everyone’s satisfaction, short of reinterpreting the 14th amendment. People’s actions have consequences, don’t they? Adults commit crimes and go to prison, and what happens to their children? People dump themselves into a foreign country in hopes that that country will simply take care of the needs of their families, and that has consequences, too. Having to return to one’s country of birth, assuming you are not going to be killed or persecuted as a result, does not seem to be the end of the world for these kids. People gamble all the time with their futures and with the fortunes of their families, and sometimes, unfortunately, they pay the price.

    I’ll be happy to extend in-state tuition to illegal-immigrant children when every state in the U.S. extends it to military personnel and their families (not all do). Until that occurs, too bad for those kids.

  50. “Kgotthardt, I did not dispute that illegal immigrants pay taxes and social security.”

    I know you didn’t, Lucky. I was just reminding everyone–public service message 🙂

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