Race, Ethnicity, Class, and Crime in the Media Fall 2020

Series: Living Undocumented S: 1 E: 3
Ethnicity and Crime

This episode of the series, Living Undocumented, which is produced by Selena Gomez, films the story of three different people and their struggles with ICE and deportation. The first person the film mentions is a man named Luis. Luis was detained by ICE for a few months and is now facing possible deportation back to Honduras where his pregnant girlfriend and child are waiting for him. The second person being filmed was a woman named Alejandra, who is the wife of a United States military man. Alejandra and her daughter are in the process of being deported back to Mexico. In the documentary, Alejandra talks about how Donald Trump loves and supports military families living in the United States, yet he is doing nothing for those families whose lives are in danger. The next person introduced in the documentary is a man named Vinny, who had a legal right to stay in the United States, however, after getting in trouble for drugs and spending about 12 years in prison, ICE put him on the list for deportation. His situation is a difficult one because ICE unable to send him back to Laos because the country does not have a repatriation agreement with the United States.

In class, we discussed crimmigration and how deportation has been a common phenomenon all around the world. We even read the article, The expansion of ”crimmigration,” mass detention, and deportation (Menjivar et. al., 2017). Crimmigration is the merging of criminal law and immigration. This relates to the documentary I watched because Vinny was facing deportation for being charged with an aggravated felony, which under the Immigration and Nationality Act, it is mandatory that he be deported. I do not think that is a fair law, especially in Vinny’s case because while he was in prison for those 12 years, he was rehabilitated and turned his life around completely. He found God and I do not think it is fair that Vinny should be deported just because he made a mistake whenever he was younger. Another person that this article relates to from the documentary is Alejandra. The story of Alejandra is very sad because even though she was the wife of a soldier who fought in America, the government still had her deported. They let her down and because of that, both she and her daughter were forced to return to Mexico.

Another article we discussed in class that relates to this documentary is the article, Providing Sanctuary or Fostering Crime? (Martinez et. al., 2017). Again, I use Vinny as an example because he came to the United States seeking asylum because his country was extremely dangerous. His father was a soldier in Laos and whenever the war ended, he was placed in a camp that was basically like a prison. He was able to escape from that camp and moved his family to the United States to keep them safe. The article states that “the adoption of limited cooperation policies could bring about behavioral changes in the local immigrant population by increasing the likelihood that individuals will engage in crime” (Martinez et. al., 2017). Even though Vinny was involved in some criminal activities, if he had not come to America and got himself in that trouble, then I do not think he would be where he is today. That time in jail was the eye-opener that he needed, and he works every day to prove that he is not the same person that he was in the early 2000s. In my opinion, the United States gave him more of an opportunity to change than Laos did. Had he stayed in Laos, he might have been dead or in even more trouble.

After watching this documentary, I think it is really important for everybody to watch it as well because it shed some light on what it is actually like to live as an undocumented person. It gave insight into how the courts treat minority families. It also opened my eyes to their fears and the problems they face on a daily basis. It was honestly hard for me to watch because it was sad to see people torn apart from their families, especially whenever they have young children that depend on them. Alejandra had to leave behind her husband and one of her children. Luis was separated from his pregnant girlfriend and his child. Vinny was patiently waiting to see whether or not he had to leave behind his daughter and his wife. This documentary made me even more grateful for what I have because there are a lot of people who are living worse than I am.

References

Menjívar, C., Gómez Cervantes, A., & Alvord, D. (2018). The expansion of “crimmigration,” mass detention, and deportation. Sociology Compass, 12(4), e12573. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12573

Martínez, D. E., Martínez-Schuldt, R. D., & Cantor, G. (2017). Providing Sanctuary or Fostering Crime? A Review of the Research on “Sanctuary Cities” and Crime. Sociology Compass, 12(1), e12547. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12547

-Anonymous