IMMIGRATION MEDIA REACTION 1

Immigration Media Reaction

Kim Eschler

SOC315

May 26, 2011

Donald Ely

IMMIGRATION MEDIA REACTION 2

Immigration Media Reaction

30 days was a reality television show on the FX cable network, created, and

hosted by Morgan Spurlock. In each episode, people spend 30 days immersing

themselves in a particular lifestyle with which they are at odds with while discussing

related social issues. Season 2, episode 1 started with Immigration. The program was

48 minutes of the experience Frank George had while living with the “Gonzales” family

in East Los Angeles.

Hispanic immigration history.

Hispanic immigration started in 1942 with the Bacero Program, a government

project designed to help the labor shortages caused by World War II. Mexican

immigrants were recruited and brought over to work in the factories to support the war

effort. When the war was finished many immigrants stayed in the United States sending

money back to their families in Mexico. The population was mostly ignored until 1965

when the families of the United States citizens were allowed to immigrate to the states,

causing a rapid increase in the number of Hispanic and Asian immigrants.

Congress continued to pass acts including the Immigration Reform and Control

Act of 1986, which issued fines to employers of illegal immigrants and granted amnesty

to all illegal immigrants currently in the United States.

Current political climate.

The episode of 30 days was filmed in 2006. Frank is a Minuteman that helps

patrol the American border between Mexico and the United States. One of the quotes

from Frank is that if we do not do something to stop the illegal immigration from Mexico

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we will have “dissolution of this country (the United States), (immigration will) tear it

apart completely”. Five years later, we are no closer to a solution.

We have people who want like to see all immigrants granted amnesty, and those

who feel that was done in the 80s and did not work. We have those would like to see

them all rounded up and deported back to Mexico, but with poor living conditions in

Mexico the conditions they would be sent back to would only be harmful. We have those

who want walls and better border patrol, but no one willing to give up funding to see that

it happens.

Our country is much divided on what should happen with immigration. Our

government needs to decide what do with the current (approximately) 10 million illegal

immigrants, and of their children born in the United States that hold citizenship. Once

this is answered our government needs to decide if the laws we have in place are the

right laws for today’s multicultural life where people seem to move all around the world.

30 days, Immigration

When the episode starts we are introduced to Frank George, who is a very

against illegal immigrants. He volunteers to patrol the border with his wife to keep “his”

America safe from illegals. Frank is an immigrant himself. He came to the United States

from Cuba in 1958 during the Cuba Revolution. His father worked for an American

sugar company and was able to come here and work for his citizenship. Frank shares of

his great pride for his family making the choice to come to America and leavening their

home and all belongings behind so they could have a better life.

The show is from Frank’s point of view and portrays 30 days of living with the

“Gonzales” family, of seven, in East Los Angeles. Two of their children were born in the

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United Sates; the other three came with their parents 12 years earlier. Frank starts the

episode very set in his opinions, and very passionate about following the legal process

and rules that govern America.

Frank spends his first 23 days working beside Rigo doing day work, and getting

to know the hardships of his family. They live in a 500 square foot, one-bedroom

apartment and make less than $15,000 a year. To save for Christmas Paty recycles

cans and other goods. Frank starts to soften a little by the middle of the show.

When Rigo offers for Frank to visit is brother in Mexico, he hesitated and then

went. Frank was able to see firsthand the living conditions that the “Gonzales” had left,

he had a new understanding and empathy for the plight of the immigrants. Frank said “I

feel for them and I feel I am being pulled apart” and “no one lives in this, you get out as

soon as you can”.

This episode left the viewer to make their own opinions. It showed the “Gonzales”

as humans trying to do the best for their family. The episode was portrayed objectively,

in a human sense. The show down played the stereotyping and allowed the viewer to

look into the life of a family.

Economy and labor force.

The argument of immigration is heated emotionally because many feel the

immigrants are taking jobs from qualified American workers. The perception is a non-

documented worker is willing to work at a much lower wages than a qualified American

citizen, and it is hurting the citizens by not allowing them the income to take care of their

families.

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ABC news did a report claimed illegal immigrants cost the United States $100

billion dollars a year in schooling, lack of taxes, medical expenses, and government ran

programs for the poor. The Houston Chronicle did a story in 2008 that claimed if we lost

undocumented workers we would stand to lose $1.8 trillion dollars in our economy from

taxes and spending. There is no doubt that the United States economy would be

effected by the loss of undocumented workers, but until someone is willing to do a

nonpartisan review of what the cost versus the benefit is of hard to document, illegals,

we will not know the answer to this.

Promoting inclusion is significant to happy multi-culture workplace. I live in the

Ogden area where a very high percentage of our population is Hispanic and a mix of

legal and illegal. Prejudice is high and speculation is that all Hispanics are illegal. The

media is not helping and Utah’s current legislation to adopt Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070 is

causing more hurtful feelings and actions. I personally would promote a safe, open

environment, hold pot luck lunches and other cultural diverse events, team meetings

that include ice-breakers to get to know each other, not allow rumors to spread, offer

diversity training and have a clear understanding of how diversity adds to everyone’s

bottom line.

Conclusion

I have watched 30 day episodes before and various issues and there is not one

episode that has aired that by looking into the lives of someone else I did not feel

empathy for them. Having a better understanding of a path someone takes, makes them

more than a political issue, it makes them human.

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References

30 Days, Season 2, episode 1 (2006). Immigration. FX cable network.

Fahmy, D. (2010) Expensive Aliens: How Much Do Illegal Immigrants Really Cost?

Retrieved on May 22, 2011 from http://abcnews.go.com/Business/illegal-

immigrants-cost-us-100-billion-year-group/story?id=10699317

Gerlach, D. (2006). Patrolling the Border. Newsweek 10 Apr 2006

Moreno, J. (2008). Price put at $1.8 trillion. Houston Chronicle May 19, 2008

Retrieved on May 22, 2011 from

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/biz/5790992.html