Undocumented immigrants struggle in Trump's America

we as a society should be able to say who comes into our country and who doesn't it was really quick within a week a week and a half they deported him and I threw myself on the floor and I was just crying screaming even though Trump is saying we're deporting bad ombres well sadly they're deporting good ombres too give me your tired you're poor your huddled masses yearning to breathe free if America has a slogan it would be that from the Statue of Liberty but you don't need me to tell you that Donald Trump got elected in part on a platform of Deport ing some of the very people who came to the country under that Banner so I'm in Houston Texas where there are half a million undocumented immigrants and I've come here to ask if what the Statue of Liberty stands for still applies we're going to call Daddy in a little bit okay first I want you to meet the escobars rose Walter and little Carmen really it's the person who's not here that I'm going to tell you about Jose Escobar the children's father and Rose's husband lived in Houston for 17 years and every year because he was undocumented in order to stay in the country he reported into immigration Jose answer a few questions and they'd let him go this past February when Rose went with him to his appointment she was told he was being detained well I ran in and he was surrounded by five guys I'm like honey what's going on he goes I'm so sorry Rose and then Carmen was reaching out for Jose and Jose was like rose just please leave because I don't want K to see me like this and he's crying I'm like Jose look don't sign anything he just hugged me and I hugged him and I said please be strong he goes you be strong for the kids and I said I will Jose but just are you ready let's goto panda a week later Jose Escobar was deported to Salvador where he's living with his grandmother Jose hadn't stepped foot in the country since he was a kid as long as we were together we were okay but now he's far far [Music] away you want to bring me your tablet Walter so we can call Daddy Rose was born in the US and so we're her kids she puts a brave face on the situation even though now she's the only bread winner B yeah we're not trying to call puppy oh there we go see now we can see puppy hi Dad heyyo after school they call Jose thousands of kilometers away what come here I'll show you let show you a trick and he still tries to help Walter with his homework okay how's the trick come in your blocking what just happened can you see us can you see us soon after Jose was deported Rose told Walter what happened her childlike explanation with the politics Stripped Away might be something we could all learn from the simple story of a boy Crossing into the US for a better life daddy came into the United States when he was a little boy and he didn't ask for permission and he goes so is Daddy a bad man I'm like no because you know how you do things but you don't know any better because you're a little boy and he goes yeah I'm like same thing with Daddy he was a little boy now that he's a man he's trying to do the right thing and that means not sneaking back across the border Rose tells me that Jose could be back tomorrow illegally but this time when he returns they want it to be for good what s no C yeah it's okay I'll teach you we'll teach that sentence it's okay I'll teach you hangs there in the Escobar living room it'll likely be 5 years before Jose can return legally when he was deported what kind of things went through your mind the first thing that came to mind is the president is changing everything now oh I'm sure I'll figure it out I'll I know how to do all that thank you okay so here's the next thing I want you to have a look at there's the Texas flag on the wall and the people on the phones in Houston they helped get Trump elected meet Cooper Jackson he works at a car wash Factory in Houston and he tells me when the wall is built he wants to work there I'm the silent majority I'm the uh I'm the person who's been waiting for someone to to get into politics and and and make the impact that he's made Trump is 10 steps ahead of everyone if you could say something to Donald Trump what would you say to him I love you I love you and thank you very much I really I I don't regret voting for you are you planning on voting in this upcoming election for Passad the ISD Cooper might be in love but he's certainly not complacent that's excellent sir he works the phones a couple of times a week trying to engage with voters well you could always switch ma'am if you decide I hope you have a great day goodbye see yeah man I I definitely see the value in doing this I just he's one of the people who's changing America we have a trump group that wants to go like protest the Socialists and like go wherever they go and protest them and I feel like this is better than doing that hello how do you see yourself when you're here making phone calls like how do you think of yourself I think of myself as a happy solder I think of myself as uh someone who wants to make a difference is in the right place what's the soldier part once you decide that you want to be a soldier for America and you join you're basically going to be fighting in whatever War they decide to get into when while you're a soldier so that's why I say I'm a happy Soldier I'm already enlisted in the Republican party I just got to do my part to fight the fight if I say illegal immigrant what do you think about what's the first thing that pops in your head when you tell me illegal immigrant I think of someone who should be punished I think of someone who broke the law I've broken the law before I've been punished for it we as a society should be able to say who comes into our country and who doesn't we as a as a country should be able to say I'm sorry we don't want your Beggars and your criminals we want your doctors and we want the people that are going to benefit or that are going to benefit but they're also going to give back to our society that's not exactly give me you're tired you're poor your huddled masses yearning to breath breathe [Music] free here's the next situation I want you to see this is what uncertainty looks like all over Houston All Over America in fact if you're an immigrant you're hiring a lawyer you want to do this in English or Spanish ryed Gonzalez tells me he's never been busier you tell me what do you see in your lobby a lot of scared people individuals that are here legally in the country that have nothing to worry about um are afraid that they're going to take away for example the legal permanent residency in the country because nobody knows what Trump is going to do every time he goes on TV he continues to say I'm deporting criminals and and traffickers and this and that but what we're seeing down here um is that is anybody that may have had any type of problem with the law and the official statistics bear that out immigration arrests are up almost 40% across the United States today nearly 400 a day but ryed believes just because something's legal doesn't make it fair they just don't get it besides he says the 11 million undocumented people in the United States have accomplices American gave them the jobs we we I'm an American I'm at fault too we give them the jobs to come here and they have stayed here all these years because the government was not able to take them all out or Deport them they bought houses and we sold it to them we we let let them get loans for cars we we we educated their children a lot of them are US citizens born here they have all this TI and now we're going to tell all these people you need to go I mean come on it's unrealistic it really is before Trump if you were undocumented you were almost American you could work raise a family after all there are 6 million children most of them US citizens whose parents parents don't have papers now those families are looking over their shoulders what exactly does that look like meet the Rodriguez family Juan Francisco left El Salvador and slipped into the United States without papers that's the only crime he's ever committed now at 47 he works as a mechanic Juan Francisco shows me the document that proves for the last 11 years he's been checking in with immigration his final meeting was in February immigration officials granted Juan Francisco His Wish he'll be at Karen's graduation but after that he was told he'd be deported I don't want my graduation to get here because once graduation comes then his time gets closer to leave and it's more of trying to live every day to the foolest because you never know you come home and maybe he's not there and at first I would go to school and I'd be really really scared and I didn't want to go to school because I didn't want to think that I would go and I wouldn't see him and I wouldn't be able to hug him in case something happened and you try to live each day but sometimes it's hard because the sadness comes in and you know he's not going to be here for a while and yes I'll have him for graduation but what about our birthdays and Christmas and Thanksgiving what am I going to be thankful for this year if you're taking a big part of me consider this 10-year-old Kimberly she was born in Houston Rebecca and Karen they're US citizens too Celia their mom she's an American as well just not Juan Francisco so maybe the question to think about is this are the Rodriguez's an American family [Music] are you aware that some of the deportations are hurting families hurting US citizens whenever I see these stories highlighted of people getting ripped away from their families in the middle of the streets and everyone's pissed off if you get here illegally and you establish as quick as you can and you have as many kids you can that means that we're going to have to keep you here I think that that is what draws more people here the same should go for everybody if it's on the books as a law you get found you're illegal you get deported y'all may be looking at me like I'm some cruel bastard for for uh saying that but it's it's law and order it sounds simple until you meet the people Jose Escobar He Slipped across the border when he was just 14 years old he came to join his mom and in all the years he lived in the US that's been his only crime it's certainly legal to deport him is it right what if Jose doesn't get back here that's not an option for me he's coming back the what if a lot of people are telling me what if he doesn't come back would you go back would you go and I'm like no I'm here to stay my kids are here to stay this is this is my home Jose is an American he just doesn't have the paperwork that says he's an American but he is an American and where he is right now in El Salvador is not where he belonged Nick pan CBC News Houston Texas

Channel: CBC News: The National

Views: 970,994

Keywords: undocumented immigrants, immigrants, Trump, America, Donald Trump, Trump administration, deportations, families, U.S. citizens, U.S., citizens, Nick Purdon, CBC, The National

Id: B9YAYMqoM1A

Length: 13min 48sec (828 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 12 2017