So this week in class we focused on undocumented immigrants and societal groups that formed against them. Groups such as The Minutemen Project, Vigilante groups, Exceptionalism groups, Minutemen Civil Defense Corps, Mothers Against Illegal Aliens and so many more that have formed against immigrants. Whenever societal groups perceive a threat to their security a sense of emergency is generated and with it a willingness to take extraordinary emergency measures (Doty 13). I want to focus on Mothers Against Illegal Aliens and on the goal they set out to achieve because it was the group that caught my attention the most. MAIA is a group that claims "the enemy" not only includes the illegal alien themselves but also the children of undocumented migrants, regardless of the fact that the children are born right U.S citizens (Doty 39). It appalls me how a group like this could exist, the founder of the organization describes immigrants as a mass invasion of unintelligent, disrespectful, criminals while targeting her message to women and families. She focuses on immigration as a threat to american children and denigrates the values of immigrant families, branding immigrant children as "dumb". This group seems as though it traces back to that deeply rooted love that they have for their country that they express that love in forms of hate (Ahmed 42). These groups see immigration as a growing crisis that has to be stopped and feel they need to take matters into their own hands.
Even though more groups form around states that border Mexico, many groups are forming in states that don't like Arizona. More laws are also being placed in states to make the lives of immigrants difficult at all cost, for example HB 56 bill that was attempted to being enforced in Alabama in 2011 scared the lives of many immigrants because it was set out to be the strictest immigration law. The bill would block many things not allowing immigrants to do anything. Here is a link speaking further on the bill two years after it was made and some of the things it would have blocked if it would have been enforced.
http://blog.al.com/wire/2013/11/hb56_two_years_later_constitut.html
I want to share with you guys a documentary of two undocumented immigrants sharing their background stories and how they felt in regard to the HB56 bill. The documentary was made by my brother, a film major, because he wanted to give an inside scoop to those who had never tried to put themselves in the shoes of an undocumented immigrant. This goes hand in hand with the group MAIA because everything this group is against, the children of undocumented immigrants, is everything immigrants strive for which is a better life for their children.
http://vimeo.com/80023503
Hope this moves you as much as it does me! Enjoy!
Wow, this is a very moving video your brother produced. Watching this video made me very sad that things like this is still going on today and in the state that I live in. I had no clue about HB56 bill that was recently passed, now that you have informed me I am disgusted with how this state thinks . This ties back to white privilege, because whites have the privilege to have power over other ethnic groups they can truly bully them and mold other ethnic groups to the way they want them to be. The women said in the video, "place yourself in my shoes, I only want what's best for my kids"seems so easy to instantly become caring and concerned about other people situations. According to this law and the article explaining the law led me to believe that the power of white privilege showed how unfair and selfish many people with this silent privilege can be. This also ties to hate and hating someone that hasn't done anything to you but hating them because they are different from you . I feel that this law was passed because Alabama is a very conservative state and fear the unknown or anything out of the "white" comfort zone. What I mean by "white"comfort zone is that because they are scared of change and other ethnic groups taking over many things that makes Alabama succeeded, they would rather fight against it to make sure their family is the only families being taken care of. This video reminded me of the harsh reality and it is sad .
ReplyDeleteWow, Priscilla, your brother is really talented, that documentary was really well put together! This video really contrasts the general media tone towards immigration and migrants which is general negative and driven by fear. Vigilante border groups and other extremist groups fuel the demonization of migrants and create media bias to spread the ideas of white supremacists and hate groups such as the Council of Conservative Citizens, Federation of American Immigration Reform, and even the Ku Klux Klan (Doty 59). Like Brittany said, the migrants in the video are just ordinary people in pursuit of a better life for them and their families. They hardly seem like the dangerous criminals portrayed by most conservative media outlets. Additionally, laws like HB56 seem to be less about improving national security (the basis upon which most anti-immigrant groups stand) and more about making migrants as uncomfortable and unwelcome as possible. HB56 is an example of the extremely restrictive local policies states have started proposing following the models from Arizona (Doty 86). Bills like these, while making the day-to-day lives of migrants difficult on a legal basis also serve to create a sense of isolation and otherness between migrants and the citizens of the states issuing the laws. The documentary really well represents a more realistic portrayal of undocumented migrants in the United States and a more widespread representation like this in the media would really help improve immigration reform.
ReplyDeleteYour brother's short film was very nice. It was well put and it was interesting to watch. I liked how the two main characters did not have the same stories and one experience was from a man and the other experience was from a woman.
ReplyDeleteIt is mind boggling to me to know that law makers have passed a law that justifies racial profiling. By definition racial profiling is the use of an individual’s race or ethnicity by law enforcement personnel as a key factor in deciding whether to engage in enforcement. In American society, the face of an immigrant or an undocumented migrant is Hispanic, especially Mexican. So if you look or you are hispanic, the risks of you getting pulled over is higher. This conversation reminds me of a time I was in sociology class my freshman year. It was the week after the bill was passed and my teacher asked anyone if they thought HB 56 promoted racial profiling. One person raised their hand and said it does not promote racial profiling because if you are here legally then you should have the proper documentation. Then my teacher asked the young man, " Do you carry around your birth certificate?", and the guy said no. The teacher asked why, and the student replied, " I know I'm American so I don't have to prove anything." His statement embodies something that we as black or white citizens take advantage of. Since the face of an immigrant is not black or white, police officers and enforcers will not be looking for people who look like me or are white. We (blacks and whites) do not go through our day being scared to step outside in the public and drive somewhere without the fear of deportation or someone wrongfully accusing us of being undocumented. I can be a Jamaican born citizen that is living here with extended family and the authorities will rarely stop me because I look like I belong only by the color of my skin and my assumed ethnicity.
On another note, I also want to add on a topic mentioned in Chapter 5 of our The Law Into Their Own Hands. It states that many states and people in power made it impossible for migrants to survive in this world. Mark Krikorian states to "prevent illegals from being able to embed themselves in our society... deny them access to jobs, identification, housing, and in general make it as difficult as possible for an illegal immigrant to live a normal life." This statement reminds me of my best friend back in New Jersey.
She is from Haiti and came here when she was five. She came to New Jersey to live with her aunt who she still lives with. All would be fine if her aunt claimed guardianship, but family issue prevented that from happening so she never was able to become a citizen. We went from elementary school to high school as the best of friends. But when it came to applying for college, she could not get in-state tuition because she was not legal. She couldn't even get out-of-state tuition, she had to pay international tuition which is the most expensive. So instead of her going to the school she wanted to, with her 4.0 GPA, she had to go to a community college. Like in the book, some states require migrants to pay the out-of-state price which is too expensive, which denies them access because they can't afford it. This is rude and something needs to be done about this.
What an incredible short film Priscilla! May I post it on the other group's blog as well? Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteGlad everyone enjoyed and was moved by it as much as I was! Of coure you are more than welcome to share with the others!
ReplyDeleteThat really was great. Before this class I never thought so much about immigration, and the more and more I learn I'm shocked at the actions taken by Americans against Americans. When you watch videos like this you can't help but have sympathy for how people must feel. Everyone, like they mentioned in the video wants better things for their kids, and they want to be around to see that better. Having to look over your shoulder all of the time is a punishment that people have not earned by being good people. It's just a shame. But the video was great and I think it really captured their emotions.
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