[00:00:03:22]
[THE VICE GUIDE TO TRAVEL]
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Right now, we're on our way to capture some immigrants.
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We don't know where they are, but we'll look for them until we find them.
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Sometimes we capture tourists,
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supposedly to return them back to Mexico.
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I look for them and we arrest them,
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and we bring them back.
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That's what I do.
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[ILLEGAL BORDER
CROSSING PARK]
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Hey, people! Listen!
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We are the US Border Patrol.
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We're here to help you right now.
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Why don't you guys surrender?
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Come on, you guys.
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This is not a game. This is real.
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We have reports that a lot of people crossed the line a few minutes ago.
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So, why don't you guys surrender?
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Don't trust those people.
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Those people, they don't care about you.
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They care about your money.
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So, listen to me.
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Watch out! Watch out! Watch out!
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Everybody stay down!
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Get down! Get down! Get down!
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This is not a game.
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[EL ALBERTO, MEXICO]
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More than seven years ago,
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here in the town of El Alberto,
90% of the people were immigrants,
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and it became a ghost town.
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There were no people. The majority of people were gone.
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If you walked on the road, you would only see an old man here, and an old woman there.
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Nothing else.
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In fact, we were all immigrants at some point,
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and we don't deny it.
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The situation was so bad, you couldn't live here.
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We were basically left in absolute oblivion.
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We didn't exist. Our town wasn't even on the map.
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How many people live here in El Alberto?
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We're about 3,000 people.
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Almost 100% of the community are indigenous Nhahñu.
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[FORTUNATO SAN PEDRO
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER]
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As I said before, in El Alberto, seven or nine years ago,
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about 90% of the people left, with their families and everything.
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There wasn't...
There wasn't anything here...
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But since we built the EcoAlberto Park over four years ago,
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about 50% of our people have come back.
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After four years, we now have something good for our community.
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The EcoAlberto Park is located in the state of Hidalgo.
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Hidalgo is over 1000 km from the border,
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but it takes about two hours to get here from Mexico City.
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[PURIFICACION ALVAREZ
PARK SECRETARY]
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We offer a unique activity at the EcoAlberto Park that you won't find elsewhere.
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We call that activity, "The Night Walk."
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The goal of the walk is to simulate what it's like for immigrants to cross into the US.
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A ticket to the Night Walk costs 250 pesos ($20 USD).
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It starts at 9pm and the most extreme walk we've done ended at 5am.
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And most of the people who come here are young.
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The Night Walk is divided into a few stages:
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The first thing is roll call.
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As I go through your names,
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please start getting into the trucks we have back here.
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Gabriel Yañez?
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Get in the truck over there.
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Ulises Melendes?
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Felipe Mera?
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Up there. Keep going, please.
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Nestor?
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Armando Cuevas?
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Over here, please.
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Once they mention the names, people get on the trucks,
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and we drive to the starting point, next to the church.
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That's where they are given an explanation of what's about to happen.
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[PONCHO
"COYOTE (PEOPLE SMUGGLER)]
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Welcome to this dusty and sandy place. We welcome you all.
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We want to tell you that this night is to honor and pay tribute
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to all of those that have been migrants.
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We started doing this walk on July 31, 2004,
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with the idea of showing people
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the Mexico that exists, but that many don't want to see.
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Tonight, no sign of despair will be accepted.
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Once we leave this place there won't be any questions or answers.
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Are we cool with this?
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The weakest ones go first,
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then the women, and finally, the men.
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Let's move quickly.
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This way.
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Let's go this way.
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Quick! Women go first. Move quickly!
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Those are all the women? Now men, let's go!
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Run, run, run run.
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Where we are going, the conditions are harsh.
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We will find mud,
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tunnels,
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canyons,
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poisonous plants,
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snakes,
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spiders.
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Just think for a minute
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about the things that migrants go through.
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Who have no water
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and have no food.
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Perhaps riding right now on top of a train,
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or walking through a freezing cold desert.
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What you will experience here,
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will be about 5% of what a real migrant goes through.
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Here they come! Here they come! Here they come!
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Run! Run!
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Get down on the ground. Here they come!Here they come!
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Come on! Hide in there!
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Everyone, down to the ground! Everyone, down to the ground!
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Hide! You too! Hide as well as you can!
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Nobody moves.
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Don't hold or pull the branches or they'll know we are here.
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Hide as well as you can.
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We have a pretty big infrastructure, with 82 people working
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to operate this simulation.
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Some people are guides, some are Border Patrol officers,
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some carry the bags, some are drivers,
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and some work as paramedics.
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But we don't tell any of this to the tourists,
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because that would ruin the impact of this experience.
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Hey, listen people!
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We are the US Border Patrol!
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Hello, somebody over there?
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We have a report that five minutes ago,
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50 people tried to come here to the United States.
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Please don't try to cross the border!
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It's very dangerous.
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You could die.
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-Have you seen anybody, guys?
-Nobody here, Sir.
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Keep looking.
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OK.
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My name is Cirilo Jerónimo.
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I play a "migra" officer.
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I catch the migrants that try to cross "the line."
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Somebody over there?
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They give this job to those of us that supposedly speak English well.
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The rest of us play the role of guides and stuff like that.
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That's how we get chosen.
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I told you guys!
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Please surrender people,
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or we're gonna kill you!
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You could say that I play my role based on what I've seen.
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I try to act based on what I saw the Border Patrol doing.
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I hear some noise over here.
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Hey, look!
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Hey, look! There's somebody there!
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Where are you going? Stop! Stop!
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Don't move! Stop! Stop!
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Put your hands up!
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Don't move!
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Don't move. Show me your face.
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Do you speak English?
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Anybody speak English?
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Hey! Stop, guys!
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Be quiet. Don't move.
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Passport or visa?
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Show me your ID, please.
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I don't have one.
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The first time I crossed the border I didn't encounter "la migra."
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I crossed without any trouble.
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But the second time that I tried to cross,
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they caught me.
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They kept me for a day,
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and the next day they sent me back here.
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I'm gonna check your pockets.
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Stay on the fucking ground and don't move!
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They caught us during the night.
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We were waiting for the lift, waiting for the trucks to pick us up.
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"La migra" found us because a little boy started crying.
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They shined a spotlight on us,
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we started running,
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but they followed us in their cars until they got us.
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Was anyone else traveling with you? How many people were with you?
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I used to live in Utah,
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where I worked in construction.
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I lived there for eight years.
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Part of my family is there and the rest are here.
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-What's your name?
-Check his pockets!
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Do I feel bad for treating them like that?
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Not really, because,
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well, I try not to hit them too hard, but in a way that still looks real.
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Their role is to receive the punches
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and mine is to hit them.
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Let's go. Let's go, man.
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I don't care if there are more people.
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I need two guys to volunteer.
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But be careful, be careful, be careful.
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Wait, wait, wait, wait.
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We are gonna cross through here.
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This is barbed wire.
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One of you stand on each side.
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Send the women first.
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Don't let anyone see you.
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Move quickly.
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Come on! This way. Don't fuck around!
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Move a little faster!
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Come on! Come on! Move a little faster!
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Here we are going to
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stop by and visit the quinceañera.
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Let's go in.
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This is Silvia Martin Jerónimo's fifteenth birthday party.
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These are usually big parties and the whole community is invited.
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In the past, nobody had these debutant partied on their fifteenth birthday,
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but now that our husbands live in the US, we've started doing it.
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Before it wasn't possible, there was no money for that.
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I think our parents didn't even know when our birthdays were.
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I think my daughter's party was really beautiful,
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and she was very happy.
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[ESTELLA JERONIMO
SILVIA'S MOM]
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These images will make it all the way to Las Vegas, Nevada,
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where Sylvia's dad is right now.
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Let's give it up for him!
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Let's clap for him. Come on!
[00:12:33:17]
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My dad is in Las Vegas,
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and I miss him.
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I wish he was here, but he couldn't make it.
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He couldn't come here.
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I love him very much.
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My husband has lived in the US since he was young.
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He's been there for over 20 years.
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Since he's undocumented, he always crosses through the desert or river.
[00:13:01:02]
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He leaves for 3 or 4 year periods at a time.
[00:13:03:05]
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He keeps going back and forth,
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and he leaves us alone for a long time.
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He can't come too often, because to get back he has to pay a lot of money.
[00:13:12:19]
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He has to pay between $1,500 and $2,000 just to cross the border.
[00:13:17:02]
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He thought about coming for this day that was so special for my daughter,
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but the expense of coming here,
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and then paying to cross the border again was too much.
[00:13:27:00]
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But he sent money for the party instead.
[00:13:30:16]
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Take it away!
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He's wanted to take me with him to the US since we got married.
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So he sent me money so that I could meet him there.
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Back then it wasn't that complicated.
[00:13:45:22]
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We crossed through Nogales.
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There was a hole in the fence where we went through.
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I didn't even feel like I was crossing a border.
[00:13:53:22]
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But the second time I went there was much harder.
[00:13:56:05]
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I had two girls with me and I was also pregnant again.
[00:14:00:06]
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It wasn't a wire fence anymore, they had already built a huge wall.
[00:14:07:00]
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It was very high, and I ended up hanging from it.
[00:14:11:23]
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I didn't want to let myself go.
[00:14:13:08]
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My husband told me, "Let yourself go, I'll catch you here."
[00:14:16:05]
[00:14:16:09]
I said, "I can't let myself go because I'm carrying my baby. I won't let myself go."
[00:14:20:20]
[00:14:21:06]
The "coyote" squatted and my husband stood on his shoulders,
[00:14:26:00]
[00:14:26:11]
so I could climb down stepping on them. That way I made it down.
[00:14:29:10]
[00:14:29:20]
I was caught and sent back twice.
[00:14:32:03]
[00:14:32:07]
The second time we crossed over the same wall again,
[00:14:35:19]
[00:14:36:00]
but this time they'd dug a hole where we could crawl under it, like lizards.
[00:14:39:22]
[00:14:40:09]
Once on the other side, we were caught again.
[00:14:43:11]
[00:14:43:16]
They sent me, my husband, and my youngest daughter back to Mexico,
[00:14:46:20]
[00:14:47:10]
and my brother-in-law, my niece, and my older sister managed to stay in.
[00:14:51:24]
[00:14:52:07]
We had to try and get back in because our daughter was there.
[00:14:57:00]
[00:14:57:16]
We went there late in the day and we managed to cross.
[00:15:00:09]
[00:15:01:07]
I'm not that interested in going there anymore. We are fine here.
[00:15:05:20]
[00:15:06:09]
My kids are already in school.
[00:15:08:23]
[00:15:09:21]
So we're doing okay here too.
[00:15:11:21]
[00:15:12:09]
Have you been to Las Vegas?
[00:15:14:09]
[00:15:14:13]
Yes, they took me when I was two or three years old,
[00:15:17:16]
[00:15:18:07]
and we came back when I was five or six years old.
[00:15:21:16]
[00:15:22:03]
Would you like to go back to Las Vegas?
[00:15:25:20]
[00:15:26:00]
Yes, to be honest, I'd like to go back.
[00:15:27:13]
[00:15:27:17]
Would you do it by crossing the border?
[00:15:31:02]
[00:15:32:03]
Yes.
[00:15:34:00]
[00:15:55:05]
All the children, even before they finish elementary school,
[00:15:59:21]
[00:16:00:18]
are already dreaming about going
[00:16:03:10]
[00:16:04:02]
to what they call "the American Dream."
[00:16:07:01]
[00:16:07:17]
To look for work,
[00:16:10:00]
[00:16:10:18]
and perhaps, a better life.
[00:16:12:09]
[00:16:13:04]
Fourteen or fifteen is the average age they decide
[00:16:16:15]
[00:16:16:20]
to leave their towns behind to go over there.
[00:16:20:24]
[00:16:21:16]
[PONCIANO RODRIGUEZ
ELELMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER]
[00:16:24:15]
[00:16:25:09]
Life's hard in the Mezquital Valley because of the lack of job opportunities.
[00:16:30:24]
[00:16:31:21]
I think over half the people from all the towns in this valley
[00:16:34:18]
[00:16:34:22]
go over there.
[00:16:37:13]
[00:16:38:19]
As teachers,
[00:16:42:04]
[00:16:43:07]
we try to convince them to keep studying and go to college
[00:16:50:01]
[00:16:50:09]
so they can stay here in Mexico, in their communities,
[00:16:56:08]
[00:16:57:00]
to help their people.
[00:16:59:13]
[00:17:00:06]
Also, so they avoid the dangers
[00:17:02:06]
[00:17:02:17]
that we hear about on the news.
[00:17:06:10]
[00:17:06:14]
Sometimes they even die on the road.
[00:17:08:22]
[00:17:11:20]
This is a mural, here at the junior high.
[00:17:14:22]
[00:17:15:20]
This is Mexico.
[00:17:17:08]
[00:17:17:18]
and here you can see the United States.
[00:17:19:18]
[00:17:20:07]
This man is an immigrant, crossing the Bravo River to the US.
[00:17:24:13]
[00:17:25:21]
These are other people who want to cross
[00:17:28:10]
[00:17:29:00]
but they are deciding whether or not to do it.
[00:17:32:20]
[00:17:43:12]
We are going to cross a little cliff. Let's do it as fast as we can.
[00:17:46:20]
[00:17:47:16]
Don't look to the left and hold onto the rocks.
[00:17:50:17]
[00:17:56:05]
Don't stay behind. We may get lost here.
[00:18:00:05]
[00:18:01:03]
Have you ever crossed the border yourself?
[00:18:03:20]
[00:18:04:00]
Yes.
[00:18:05:15]
[00:18:05:20]
Many times.
[00:18:07:03]
[00:18:07:07]
But I haven't done it for more than ten years.
[00:18:11:15]
[00:18:12:05]
How was your experience when you crossed for the first time?
[00:18:15:20]
[00:18:16:05]
It was a bit dramatic.
[00:18:18:14]
[00:18:18:18]
When you go there, you feel somewhat blind,
[00:18:22:10]
[00:18:22:20]
because you read, but you don't understand shit.
[00:18:26:16]
[00:18:26:20]
You're mute because you can't even speak the language.
[00:18:29:21]
[00:18:30:00]
It's your first time.
[00:18:32:11]
[00:18:32:15]
And deaf, because they speak a different language than we do.
[00:18:34:13]
[00:18:34:24]
It's amazing how people adapt to adverse conditions.
[00:18:39:14]
[00:18:40:02]
What were you doing there?
[00:18:42:15]
[00:18:43:16]
Landscaping.
[00:18:45:04]
[00:18:54:00]
About farming here...
[00:18:56:00]
[00:18:56:05]
You can find work doing that, but you earn only enough to live,
[00:19:00:11]
[00:19:00:21]
just enough to eat.
[00:19:02:14]
[00:19:03:06]
But if you want to save money to build a house or start a business,
[00:19:09:04]
[00:19:09:15]
it's not enough.
[00:19:10:18]
[00:19:11:04]
That's why people go work over there.
[00:19:13:23]
[00:19:14:08]
There, I make $14 an hour,
[00:19:16:16]
[00:19:17:05]
working in construction.
[00:19:19:05]
[00:19:19:17]
[FELIPE GARCIA
LOCAL COUNCIL MEMBER]
[00:19:22:15]
[00:19:23:10]
I live in Las Vegas.
[00:19:25:05]
[00:19:25:10]
I've lived there for about 17 years.
[00:19:28:01]
[00:19:28:21]
I came back from the US only three months ago.
[00:19:33:03]
[00:19:33:22]
I came back to work for our town.
[00:19:36:02]
[00:19:36:11]
Basically, to help our community so we can develop a bit more.
[00:19:40:19]
[00:19:41:03]
Once I'm done with my work here, I'll go back there.
[00:19:45:03]
[00:19:46:12]
What the American Dream means to us,
[00:19:51:13]
[00:19:52:16]
is that we can go over there,
[00:19:55:00]
[00:19:55:06]
even if we struggle to cross that border,
[00:19:58:10]
[00:19:58:21]
and find a good job,
[00:20:01:12]
[00:20:01:16]
earn a little bit of money,
[00:20:04:12]
[00:20:04:21]
save it, and come back to build a house or start a business.
[00:20:11:00]
[00:20:11:11]
The people who live here go for a few years,
[00:20:15:11]
[00:20:15:18]
and once they've accomplished all the things they'd wanted,
[00:20:18:17]
[00:20:18:21]
they return to live here and enjoy the things they have.
[00:20:22:10]
[00:20:22:14]
So the American Dream is to come back to Mexico?
[00:20:25:06]
[00:20:25:10]
Yes.
[00:20:26:18]
[00:20:26:22]
For example, a family leaves, and they have nothing here.
[00:20:29:19]
[00:20:30:00]
They get there, look for a job, and start working.
[00:20:32:20]
[00:20:33:00]
Then they start sending money back here,
[00:20:36:08]
[00:20:36:12]
and find someone to start building a house for them.
[00:20:38:20]
[00:20:39:00]
We could say the design of this house is American style.
[00:20:42:06]
[00:20:43:06]
From there, from Salt Lake or Las Vegas.
[00:20:46:00]
[00:20:46:20]
They bring it from there.
[00:20:48:15]
[00:20:48:19]
That's why the design of the houses has changed here.
[00:20:51:13]
[00:20:51:21]
Other houses look different.
[00:20:53:24]
[00:20:54:11]
The family that owns this house is in Salt Lake City,
[00:20:57:02]
[00:20:57:12]
but they come during the holidays to enjoy their house.
[00:21:00:16]
[00:21:01:10]
This is the way the houses looked before,
[00:21:04:18]
[00:21:04:24]
when nobody even thought about going to the other side.
[00:21:10:10]
[00:21:10:16]
This is how the houses used to be.
[00:21:12:04]
[00:21:14:04]
My name is Juan Garcia Garcia.
[00:21:16:20]
[00:21:17:00]
I've had the luck of living in Salt Lake City, Utah,
[00:21:20:21]
[00:21:21:12]
where I do construction work.
[00:21:23:16]
[00:21:23:20]
I've been there since '92.
[00:21:27:05]
[00:21:27:11]
I go back and forth, and thank God, we are doing well.
[00:21:33:01]
[00:21:33:13]
Our lives were very different before.
[00:21:36:11]
[00:21:36:16]
We used to live in poverty.
[00:21:39:00]
[00:21:39:21]
I used to live in a very small house, no bigger than 12 by 15 feet.
[00:21:43:05]
[00:21:43:11]
I lived there with my seven siblings.
[00:21:45:18]
[00:21:46:10]
I never thought I'd own such a big house. I can hardly believe it myself.
[00:21:52:06]
[00:21:52:20]
I've been building it for more than eight years.
[00:21:55:12]
[00:21:55:18]
I'm still building it right now. It's not finished yet,
[00:21:58:18]
[00:21:59:11]
but little by little, we're moving forward.
[00:22:02:04]
[00:22:04:18]
If we hadn't gone to the north,
[00:22:07:16]
[00:22:08:03]
I think that none of what we see around here
[00:22:11:07]
[00:22:11:21]
would exist today.
[00:22:15:04]
[00:22:22:07]
Let's go! Faster, faster! A little bit faster!
[00:22:24:07]
[00:22:24:17]
Let's go! Faster!
[00:22:27:09]
[00:22:27:24]
The immigrants walk through here,
[00:22:30:10]
[00:22:30:14]
the ones that don't have documents.
[00:22:32:00]
[00:22:32:04]
Sometimes they cross up to 10 kilometers through these tunnels.
[00:22:36:08]
[00:22:40:05]
Sometimes people die of asphyxiation here.
[00:22:42:24]
[00:22:45:06]
Here comes the lift. Here comes the lift.
[00:22:47:05]
[00:22:48:18]
Move! Get ready in groups of 10! Come on!
[00:22:50:23]
[00:22:51:08]
Quickly, quickly, quickly!
[00:22:52:21]
[00:22:54:11]
Come on! Come on! Come on! Women first!
[00:22:57:10]
[00:22:58:10]
Go back there! Go! Go!
[00:23:00:18]
[00:23:02:21]
Hold on! Hold on!
[00:23:04:13]
[00:23:04:18]
Get inside! Get inside! Get inside!
[00:23:06:18]
[00:23:12:01]
Hold on tight!
[00:23:14:01]
[00:23:14:06]
To the other car! Quickly!
[00:23:15:18]
[00:23:15:22]
Run! They're leaving us behind!
[00:23:17:20]
[00:23:18:23]
Come on! Move!
[00:23:20:12]
[00:23:22:05]
There's no room for us in that one! Come over here to this one!
[00:23:24:07]
[00:23:26:24]
We're ready! Let's go!
[00:23:27:24]
[00:23:35:17]
We have to hurry! We have to hurry!
[00:23:37:17]
[00:23:38:02]
Let's go!
[00:23:39:16]
[00:23:41:13]
Let's go!
[00:23:43:13]
[00:23:43:22]
It's very hard to be an illegal immigrant.
[00:23:47:00]
[00:23:47:05]
You have to take too many risks.
[00:23:49:21]
[00:23:50:01]
Personally, my toughest experience has been that this year,
[00:23:55:00]
[00:23:55:04]
I lost one of my brothers while we tried to cross into the US.
[00:23:59:19]
[00:23:59:23]
There was an accident. The truck he was in flipped over, and he died.
[00:24:06:24]
[00:24:07:03]
Did you ever work doing this in real life?
[00:24:09:15]
[00:24:10:06]
I was, I was...
[00:24:11:23]
[00:24:12:13]
I was a driver. I'd pick up migrants and drive them all over the US.
[00:24:17:06]
[00:24:18:04]
That's what I used to do.
[00:24:20:05]
[00:24:21:05]
This ride usually takes you into the cities.
[00:24:23:05]
[00:24:23:09]
So this is usually the end?
[00:24:24:16]
[00:24:25:01]
Not always.
[00:24:26:01]
[00:24:26:05]
If we run into the Border Patrol, we have to jump back into the hills,
[00:24:28:21]
[00:24:29:04]
and wait for another lift.
[00:24:30:20]
[00:24:31:07]
It looks like the Border Patrol are coming after us.
[00:24:33:05]
[00:24:33:09]
Yes.
[00:24:34:11]
[00:24:34:16]
We're screwed. We have to jump off.
[00:24:36:11]
[00:24:36:16]
Get off as fast as you fucking can.
[00:24:38:11]
[00:24:38:16]
Let's go! Run!
[00:24:40:16]
[00:24:41:23]
Go down there!
[00:24:43:15]
[00:24:44:13]
Run! Run! Run!
[00:24:46:13]
[00:24:52:18]
This is the town's cemetery.
[00:24:55:11]
[00:24:56:16]
As you can see, some of the graves are for migrants who've died
[00:25:01:01]
[00:25:01:05]
when they went to the United States.
[00:25:03:07]
[00:25:03:11]
When they die there,
[00:25:05:06]
[00:25:05:16]
the Mexican Consulate takes care of the paperwork,
[00:25:09:16]
[00:25:09:23]
they bring them to Mexico City,
[00:25:12:00]
[00:25:12:04]
and from there, they bring them to El Alberto.
[00:25:14:17]
[00:25:25:18]
Run, my friend! They're coming down here!
[00:25:27:24]
[00:25:28:03]
Those fuckers are coming down! Let's go!
[00:25:29:21]
[00:25:30:11]
Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!
[00:25:32:00]
[00:25:32:04]
They're coming down! Come over here!
[00:25:34:09]
[00:25:34:14]
Come this way! Be careful!
[00:25:36:05]
[00:25:37:06]
Everybody to the ground. Try to catch your breath.
[00:25:39:22]
[00:25:45:07]
You have to stop hiding.
[00:25:48:07]
[00:25:50:05]
Don't move those branches.
[00:25:51:20]
[00:25:52:01]
This is your chance to surrender.
[00:25:55:14]
[00:25:57:03]
If you guys get lost in the desert,
[00:25:59:03]
[00:25:59:08]
no one is going to help you out.
[00:26:01:03]
[00:26:01:07]
Pretty soon, it's going to clear up and it'll be daytime,
[00:26:03:24]
[00:26:05:00]
the night will be over.
[00:26:07:04]
[00:26:08:22]
So you'll have no place to hide.
[00:26:10:22]
[00:26:11:08]
In daylight, it will be a lot easier for us.
[00:26:13:16]
[00:26:15:21]
As you see, we do all this with tourists.
[00:26:18:21]
[00:26:19:04]
It may be true that it's a new kind of tourism,
[00:26:22:04]
[00:26:22:10]
because we want it to be a socially-conscious type of tourism.
[00:26:24:19]
[00:26:25:09]
We deal with the issue of immigration, but some people are bothered by that.
[00:26:28:19]
[00:26:29:01]
Our worst criticism comes from the State government,
[00:26:33:17]
[00:26:33:22]
from our State of Hidalgo.
[00:26:35:14]
[00:26:35:18]
They're the ones who've said
[00:26:37:11]
[00:26:37:15]
that we're making fun of the migrants.
[00:26:39:12]
[00:26:39:16]
They're the ones who have said that we train people so they can leave.
[00:26:45:10]
[00:26:46:21]
We don't train them to leave,
[00:26:48:18]
[00:26:48:22]
but to stay and work harder here,
[00:26:51:18]
[00:26:51:22]
and work to create the necessary conditions for us to be self-sufficient.
[00:26:56:01]
[00:26:56:06]
But the government doesn't like that,
[00:26:59:08]
[00:26:59:14]
because when the people are developed and organized,
[00:27:03:01]
[00:27:03:11]
they're harder to manipulate.
[00:27:05:01]
[00:27:05:05]
Ninety percent of our community was immigrants,
[00:27:08:05]
[00:27:08:09]
and this was a ghost town,
[00:27:09:21]
[00:27:10:00]
but now about 60% of the people stay here.
[00:27:12:11]
[00:27:12:15]
We achieved that in four years.
[00:27:13:22]
[00:27:14:01]
We can ask the Mexican government if they've done anything like that.
[00:27:16:15]
[00:27:19:17]
It's illegal to come here to the US without a passport.
[00:27:23:13]
[00:27:24:20]
You're under arrest.
[00:27:26:14]
[00:27:29:03]
Get on the truck.
[00:27:30:08]
[00:27:30:12]
On the truck, man.
[00:27:31:16]
[00:27:32:16]
On the truck, everybody!
[00:27:34:16]
[00:27:35:06]
Let's be honest here.
[00:27:37:05]
[00:27:37:10]
We've noticed that the groups of migrants between the ages of 18 and 25
[00:27:41:13]
[00:27:41:21]
cross without a problem.
[00:27:43:19]
[00:27:44:00]
The elderly and the children are a burden on the American tax system.
[00:27:48:18]
[00:27:49:06]
So, it's like, these can cross and these can't cross.
[00:27:51:20]
[00:27:51:24]
We've tried traveling with only young people, and we never had problems.
[00:27:56:22]
[00:27:57:21]
Who doesn't know about the illegal immigrants in the US?
[00:28:01:09]
[00:28:01:20]
Everyone from the president to the lowest authority knows what's going on.
[00:28:05:22]
[00:28:06:11]
It's just people exploiting other people.
[00:28:09:13]
[00:28:09:19]
We've realized that with our work, we strengthen the monster.
[00:28:13:24]
[00:28:14:16]
By letting them exploit us, we make their economy stronger.
[00:28:17:16]
[00:28:18:00]
But we are hooked too.
[00:28:19:22]
[00:28:20:12]
We need to find a balance,
[00:28:23:15]
[00:28:23:19]
and realize that we have to build our own history here,
[00:28:26:23]
[00:28:27:08]
instead of building our history in another country that isn't ours.
[00:28:31:04]
[00:28:31:14]
But we want to change that history,
[00:28:34:08]
[00:28:34:13]
and not be migrants anymore.
[00:28:36:21]