by Robert Klein
The events depicted in Farmingville could happen these days anywhere in the U. S. In this new movie directed by Catherine Tambini and Carlos Sandoval, with Carlos Sandoval as screenwriter, we see the consequence of uncontrolled, illegal immigration. The focus for this story is a hate crime committed against two young Mexican day laborers by white youths. As the filmmakers explore the story behind the violence, what we discover is a story with implications for American society.
Farmingville is a small community located in the center of Long Island, New York. In the 1990s, Farmingville's population jumped with an influx of illegal Mexican workers. Situated in the middle of Long Island, Farmingville attracts contractors who want a centralized work pool from which to draw. As a result, street corners of Farmingville have become de facto employment offices. Likewise, many of the neighborhood homes are filled with 20 or more residents, most of them illegal immigrants.
The legal residents of Farmingville began to ask for enforcement of local, state, and federal labor and immigration laws. Yet, as Brad Slager writes in his review of the film, ''Tragically, the problems the community had to deal with were the result of lack of enforcement of immigration and labor laws, and by the time the ill effects were being experienced, the time for action had already passed...when the problems were detected there was little that could have been done.''
Eventually, the residents took to the streets in protest. They confronted politicians, they hassled the contractors who came into town looking for workers, and they formed activist groups to confront the problem. Then, two illegal immigrant workers were brutally attacked by two white young men, from the area. That's when the charges of racism began to surface, and have not yet subsided.
Regardless of the pleas by the resident of Farmingville for INS action, nothing was done. No one was interested in deporting those violating our immigration laws. According to an MSNBC article on the events at Farmingville by Sean Federico-O'Murchu MSNBC, ''...despite complaints by some locals that many of the migrant workers are illegal aliens, the Immigration and Naturalization Service says it won't approach a group of people and ask for documentation without probable cause.''
The events at Farmingville mark a watershed in the problem of illegal immigration in this country. Prior to the attacks at Farmingville, an argument could be made that our need for low skilled and low paid workers was the driving force behind illegal immigration from Mexico to the U. S. There were jobs in the U. S. going without workers, so it made sense to hire illegal Mexicans to do the work Americans did not want to do.
After the violence at Farmingville, it is obvious that just the opposite has evolved. We have crossed a divide, now. Instead of low paying jobs attracting illegal immigrants, the shear number of illegal immigrants coming to the U. S. is encouraging the creation of more and more low paying jobs. What began yesterday as a pull has now become, today, a push.
Some business leaders now argue, that if there are thousands willing to work for low pay, then why not hire them instead of higher paid Americans? Add to this the exporting of American jobs to foreign countries with cheep labor, and it is no wonder many Americans are both fearful for their future and hostile towards immigrants.
Small proof that illegal immigrants are ruining the standard of living for many Americans is given by Margaret Bianculli-Dyber, a resident of Farmingville and President of The Sachem Quality of Life Organization. She says, ''My husband works for a large food-distribution warehouse—he's a forklift operator. Traditionally, they make 20-something dollars an hour. My husband makes $12 an hour.''
Margaret Bianculli-Dybe continues, ''Labor is so plentiful for (the company), they say, 'I can just replace you and get El Salvadorans for $6 or $7 an hour.' Because of a plentiful supply of cheap labor, my husband's wages are held down, and I have to work. Now, because of all the Mexicans, my property values have fallen $18,000 in four years. So, I can't afford to sell my house for a profit and move away'' (Michael Kamber, The Village Voice. August 8-14, 2001).
Increased deportation of illegal immigrants would solve the problem people like Margaret Bianculli-Dybe face, yet increased deportation is not happening. INS figures show that 76,861 people were deported from October 2001 to April 2002. The figures for 2003 are not readily available. However, if one makes a conservative estimate of 8 million illegal aliens in this country, then, it will take about 105 years for the office of Homeland Security to deport all the illegal aliens at a rate of about 76,000 a year.
The events depicted in Farmingville could happen these days anywhere in the U. S. In this new movie directed by Catherine Tambini and Carlos Sandoval, with Carlos Sandoval as screenwriter, we see the consequence of uncontrolled, illegal immigration. The focus for this story is a hate crime committed against two young Mexican day laborers by white youths. As the filmmakers explore the story behind the violence, what we discover is a story with implications for American society.
Farmingville is a small community located in the center of Long Island, New York. In the 1990s, Farmingville's population jumped with an influx of illegal Mexican workers. Situated in the middle of Long Island, Farmingville attracts contractors who want a centralized work pool from which to draw. As a result, street corners of Farmingville have become de facto employment offices. Likewise, many of the neighborhood homes are filled with 20 or more residents, most of them illegal immigrants.
The legal residents of Farmingville began to ask for enforcement of local, state, and federal labor and immigration laws. Yet, as Brad Slager writes in his review of the film, ''Tragically, the problems the community had to deal with were the result of lack of enforcement of immigration and labor laws, and by the time the ill effects were being experienced, the time for action had already passed...when the problems were detected there was little that could have been done.''
Eventually, the residents took to the streets in protest. They confronted politicians, they hassled the contractors who came into town looking for workers, and they formed activist groups to confront the problem. Then, two illegal immigrant workers were brutally attacked by two white young men, from the area. That's when the charges of racism began to surface, and have not yet subsided.
Regardless of the pleas by the resident of Farmingville for INS action, nothing was done. No one was interested in deporting those violating our immigration laws. According to an MSNBC article on the events at Farmingville by Sean Federico-O'Murchu MSNBC, ''...despite complaints by some locals that many of the migrant workers are illegal aliens, the Immigration and Naturalization Service says it won't approach a group of people and ask for documentation without probable cause.''
The events at Farmingville mark a watershed in the problem of illegal immigration in this country. Prior to the attacks at Farmingville, an argument could be made that our need for low skilled and low paid workers was the driving force behind illegal immigration from Mexico to the U. S. There were jobs in the U. S. going without workers, so it made sense to hire illegal Mexicans to do the work Americans did not want to do.
After the violence at Farmingville, it is obvious that just the opposite has evolved. We have crossed a divide, now. Instead of low paying jobs attracting illegal immigrants, the shear number of illegal immigrants coming to the U. S. is encouraging the creation of more and more low paying jobs. What began yesterday as a pull has now become, today, a push.
Some business leaders now argue, that if there are thousands willing to work for low pay, then why not hire them instead of higher paid Americans? Add to this the exporting of American jobs to foreign countries with cheep labor, and it is no wonder many Americans are both fearful for their future and hostile towards immigrants.
Small proof that illegal immigrants are ruining the standard of living for many Americans is given by Margaret Bianculli-Dyber, a resident of Farmingville and President of The Sachem Quality of Life Organization. She says, ''My husband works for a large food-distribution warehouse—he's a forklift operator. Traditionally, they make 20-something dollars an hour. My husband makes $12 an hour.''
Margaret Bianculli-Dybe continues, ''Labor is so plentiful for (the company), they say, 'I can just replace you and get El Salvadorans for $6 or $7 an hour.' Because of a plentiful supply of cheap labor, my husband's wages are held down, and I have to work. Now, because of all the Mexicans, my property values have fallen $18,000 in four years. So, I can't afford to sell my house for a profit and move away'' (Michael Kamber, The Village Voice. August 8-14, 2001).
Increased deportation of illegal immigrants would solve the problem people like Margaret Bianculli-Dybe face, yet increased deportation is not happening. INS figures show that 76,861 people were deported from October 2001 to April 2002. The figures for 2003 are not readily available. However, if one makes a conservative estimate of 8 million illegal aliens in this country, then, it will take about 105 years for the office of Homeland Security to deport all the illegal aliens at a rate of about 76,000 a year.
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