"Unfortunately, in my country, we don’t have opportunities to make a living,” said Enrique, an immigrant who came to the U.S. illegally. “And I want the best for my children.” Edgar, another immigrant, said, “I had to cross the border illegally…there was no other way.”
These comments shed light on the economic forces and immigration policies that have spurred a dramatic increase in illegal immigration to the United States in recent years. “Virginia Reports: The Latino Underground,” an hour-long documentary, explores this complicated topic. .
Decades ago, Mexican migrant laborers came to work in the apple orchards of northwest Virginia, and returned home after the harvest. Today, the number of unauthorized Latino immigrants living in the Commonwealth has exploded. What caused the change in migratory labor trends? Why do immigrants cross the border illegally? What effect is illegal immigration having in Virginia? What can be done about it? VIRGINIA REPORTS : The Latino Underground, by award-winning documentary producer Brent Finnegan, examines this emotional issue.
Those interviewed in The Latino Underground include:
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Several undocumented immigrants
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Dr. Laura Zarrugh, a cultural anthropologist and adjunct professor at James Madison University
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Charles Bowden, an author and investigative journalist who has spent over 20 years writing about illegal immigration
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George Taplin of the Virginia Chapter of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps
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Hobey Bauhan, president of the Virginia Poultry Federation
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Micah Bump, a Georgetown University Research Associate
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Katie Pitcock, director of the Winchester Migrant Head Start program
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Aaron Cook, an immigration lawyer
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John Vinson with Americans for Immigration Control
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Virginia Delegate Todd Gilbert
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Donald Ford, superintendent of Harrisonburg City Schools
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Judith Trumbo, director of Rockingham Memorial Hospital’s Home & Community Health
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Donald Driver, director of the Department of Social Services, Harrisonburg
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Bill Threlkeld with Project Hope and Harmony, Herndon
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Don Farley, sheriff of Rockingham County
Immigration reform has been the subject of hot debate in Congress, the Virginia General Assembly, and in municipal councils across the state for years. As politicians at the local, state and federal levels propose and debate solutions, an estimated one million Latinos come to the U.S. illegally each year from economically depressed Latin American countries. According to State Delegate Todd Gilbert, about $1 billion leaves Virginia’s economy each year as immigrants send money to their dependent families back home. Local educators estimate that ESL students cost the schools an additional $3,000 per student, and many of those students are the children of undocumented immigrants.
Now, many elected officials in Virginia are headed toward a showdown with the federal government over the issue of illegal immigration, while citizens and immigrants are caught in the middle.
Additional Resources
Further reading:
Learn more about a few of the experts featured in The Latino Underground:
Charles Bowden is a leading writer on U.S.-Mexican border issues. His eleven books include Inferno; A Shadow in the City: Confessions of an Undercover Drug Warrior; Down by the River: Drugs, Money, Murder, and Family; and Blues for Cannibals: Notes from Underground. Bowden's investigative report about illegal immigration," Exodus: Coyotes, Pollos, and the Promised Van" appeared in Mother Jones' September/October 2006 issue.
Laura Zarrugh, Ph.D. is a cultural anthropologist with over 25 years of research and teaching experience. For the past ten years, she has been engaged in long-term, ethnographic research on recent immigrants in the Central Shenandoah Valley. Zarrugh is the author of the research paper, "From Workers to Owners: Hispanic Entrepreneurs in the Shenandoah Valley."
About Virginia Reports VIRGINIA REPORTS focuses on compelling local issues and topics of importance in communities across the WVPT viewing area. This series presents a unique glimpse into the issues by providing varying perspectives and points-of-view, and expert commentary and insight. Serving as the local forum for in-depth exploration, each program features interviews with local and state officials, as well as local professionals, policymakers and everyday citizens. If it’s happening in the WVPT viewing area, you’ll most likely find it on VIRGINIA REPORTS. Pertinent topics have included expansion plans for Interstate 81 and the prevalence of gang violence.
To view VIRGINIA REPORTS videos, click on the playlist menu from the video player above and select the episode to view.
