ImmigrationProf Blog

JD Vance points to ‘Gangs of New York’ to back up claim that immigration leads to crime

 

 

Senator JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, is in the news with comments on immigration.  He defended past comments on immigration by pointing to the 2002 Martin Scorsese movie Gangs of New York as an example of immigration leading to higher crime rates.

At a campaign appearance at the Milwaukee Police Association, Vance was asked about his comments in 2021 in which he claimed past waves of immigration led to increased crime. The Ohio senator responded by referencing the 2002 film in which an Irish man, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, infiltrates a violent anti-immigrant gang in the mid-19th century.

“Has anybody ever seen the movie ‘Gangs of New York’? That’s what I’m talking about,” Vance said. “We know that when we have these massive ethnic enclaves form in our country, it can sometimes lead to higher crime rates.”

He later added: “What happens when you have massive amounts of illegal immigration, it actually starts to create ethnic conflict, it creates higher crime rates. We’ve certainly seen that over the last few years.”

One response to Vance's comments from the New Republic:  "Citing a fictional movie is probably not the best way to defend controversial comments, especially since the major villain of the movie is an anti-immigrant nativist crime boss based on a real person, which people on X were happy to point out."

 

So, JD Vance ALSO hates the Irish and Italians? Nice, nice. This is a winning campaign. https://t.co/TXl2hYBHqy

— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) August 16, 2024

 

Washington Post columnist Philip Bump pointed out on X that “the most brutal, vicious killer in [Gangs of New York] is the nativist who loathes immigrants.”

Senator Vance’s claim about immigrant propensity for crime conflicts with many studies finding that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans.

KJ

At the Movies: Borderland: The Line Within

From Immigration Impact:  Borderland: The Line Within Takes Viewers Through CBP’s Raid on a Humanitarian Aid Camp

Borderland (and here) mtakes viewers through a gripping narrative of how immigration enforcement agencies—from the U.S.-Mexico border to places well within our nation’s interior—have created what the film calls the “border industrial complex,” a system “that transforms the suffering of immigrant lives into corporate profit.”  KJ

16mm Film Captures Abandoned Ellis Island in 1974

The New York Times has unearthed a short (7:25) 1974 film made by high school students Phil Buehler and Steve Siegel. It's called Ellis Island, and it features 16mm footage of the at-the-time abandoned immigration processing center. Check out the contrast between the famous Registry Room then (around 1:38) and now in this linked picture. The government really had their work cut out for them to rehab the site and turn it into the spectacular National Monument that it is today.

On a totally different note--what is it about teenage boys and the desire to explore abandoned places? It's a timeless drive.

-KitJ

At the Movies: The Absence of Eden

 

A movie of interest to ImmigrationProf readers!  The synopsis: "An ICE Agent struggling with the moral dilemmas of border security and an undocumented woman fighting to escape a ruthless cartel cross paths and work together to save the life of an innocent girl."

• Director
  • Marco Perego
• Writers
  • Marco Perego
  • Rick Rapoza
• • Zoe Saldana
  • Adria Arjona
  • Garrett HedlundStars

  Here and here are short reviews of the film.

  KJ

PBS: Immigrant workers face injury, lack of protections on U.S. dairy farms

 

Dairy farms employ many migrant workers.  PBS News Hour reports on how immigrant workers suffer routine injuries and lack protections on U.S. dairy farms.  According to the report, many workers feel that employers treat them as less than human, but they can't push back because of their immigration status.

ProPublica has been investigating the realities of life for immigrant workers on Midwest dairy farms. In the PBS report, John Yang speaks with ProPublica reporter Melissa Sanchez about what she’s found.

KJ

At the Movies: Problemista, a Comedy

The new film “Problemista” follows protagonist Alejandro’s desperate quest to stay in the United States and achieve his dreams.  Here is the description of the comedy on IMDb:

"Alejandro is an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador struggling to bring his unusual ideas to life in NY. As time runs out on his work visa, a job assisting an erratic art-world outcast becomes his only hope to stay in the country."

The film was just released

 

CNN and the Roger Ebert website offer perspectives on Problemista here.

 

KJ

Help Fund Fieldwork, a documentary

Law professor Yxta Maya Murray and Paulina Sierra are fundraising for "Fieldwork," their documentary about farmworkers in Fresno, California. Yxta is a law professor and writer (novels!), and Paulina is an artist and filmmaker. In March of 2024, they traveled to Fresno and filmed interviews with fifteen farmworkers living in Fresno, Mendota, Macfarland, and other towns in the region. These farmworkers explained to us how they suffered from pesticides exposure, extreme heat, housing precarity, deportation risk and fear, cancer, and harm to their families as a consequence of their labors in California groves. We are turning this footage into a documentary that we will screen at film festivals, law schools, conferences, and, most importantly, community centers throughout Central California. We are fundraising for honoraria paid to participating farmworkers, travel costs, and technology needed to finish this film.

KJ

60 Mintutes: Operation Lone Star

On Sunday, 60 Minutes aired a report on Operation Lone Star. See below (1:50-14:56):

There's a corresponding 60 Minutes Overtime segment: Patrolling the border with a Texas state trooper.

Cecilia Vega is the reporter behind both segments, either/both of which would be great for your crimmigration course.

The first video offers striking visuals--mass border crossings, the physical barriers imposed by Texas, how easily those barriers are breached, the detritus left behind by migrants. Vega speaks both with Gov. Abbott as well as a former head of the Border Patrol.

The second video, as its title suggests, focuses on state enforcement away from the border. Vega accompanies a state trooper as she looks for evidence of "people smuggling." Vega states: "When Trooper Gooding is out on patrol she's looking for one thing primarily, and that is smugglers. Human traffickers." This is a great segment for talking about mission drift--what highway patrol traditionally has looked for (highway safety) vs. what they're currently enforcing (immigration laws).

-KitJ

At The Movies (Friday): Problemista

Another exciting immigration movie is about to drop--Julio Torres' Problemista. Check out the trailer:

If the name Julio Torres doesn't ring an immediate bell, let me refresh your memory with this trailer for his HBO series Los Espookys. (You had me at the name my friend.)

Anyhoo, back to Problemista. As the trailer shows, it's a surrealist take on Torres' life in El Salvador and immigration to New York. I can't wait to see it.

-KitJ

At The Movies: Io Capitano

Io Capitano is an Italian movie by filmmaker Matteo Garrone. Italy's submission to the Oscars for Best Foreign Film, the movie is "an epic odyssey from West Africa to Italy told through the eyes and experiences of two Senegalese cousins — teenagers living in Dakar who yearn for a brighter future in Europe."

Here is the trailer:

WaPo declares the movie "gorgeous at times yet also tough to watch."

Io Capitano was released nationwide in the US on Friday (Feb. 23). Nationwide doesn't include Norman, Oklahoma, but you big city types might be able to catch it in theaters. The sweeping desert scenes look like they'd be particularly stunning on the big screen.

-KitJ

Birthtourism documentary

PBS is streaming a new documentary on birth tourism, How to Have An American Baby. It takes the view of Chinese mothers, leaving China for a better future by migrating to Southern California to give birth to children who will be US citizens. The practice, is not unlawful per se -- most women have tourist visas that permit lawful entry, though entering under false pretenses is unlawful -- but it has been politically controversial. The filmmaker, Leslie Tai, explains her purpose as exposing the American Dream that doesn't come after 10-years being embedded with a group of mothers in Rowland Heights. She depicts the entire industry as false promises and scams: Chinese salesmen scamming pregnant women by hiking prices on tour packages, pregnant women being coached in US hotels on how to scam the hospitals into a longer stay, and wealthy or well-connected mothers taking advantage of their drivers in the US.

 The tw-hour film can be accessed from PBS here. The LA Times offers a review here.

MHC

Video at Civil Procedure-Immigration Intersection

I know I'm not the only immprof whose 1L course is Civil Procedure. This post is for all y'all.

A student turned me onto this video from Vox, released about 7 months ago, called Why Texas judges have so much power right now. It's a well done (and blessedly short) piece explaining how federal judges in Texas are assigned cases. Short answer: the state's 4 federal districts are further subdivided into even smaller local districts, some of which only have 1 judge, such that filing in a particular sub-district means getting a specific judge.

The substantive law that this video uses to explain this Civ Pro concept is the Texas lawsuit to prevent the Biden Administration from ending Remain in Mexico. (With a nod to the mifeprestone litigation, too.) In addition to discussing judge-shopping, the video discusses the concept of nationwide injunctions and how one federal judge can effectively control/set policy for the entire country.

-KitJ

At the Movies: How the Gringo Stole Christmas (2023)

 

Need an upbeat holiday movie?  George Lopez stars in the just-released How the Gringo Stole Christmas.  Here is the IMDb summary:  "Bennie's daughter is on her way home for the holidays. However she surprises him by arriving with her brand new boyfriend - an uninvited GRINGO."  You can fill in the blanks.  But a summary from MovieWeb offers some details:

"How the Gringo Stole Christmas is a wholesome holiday flick about an older, grumpy, stuck-in-his-ways father who's forced to change after the arrival of his daughter's non-Hispanic boyfriend. Starring George Lopez, the film is packed with enough sarcastic lines of comedic dialogue to keep you chuckling throughout. With its endearing characters and relationships, along with the film's pleasant (albeit unoriginal) story, How the Gringo Stole Christmas is a charming holiday film that celebrates Hispanic culture and families. Is it predictable? Sure, but the film's focus and cultural specificity, George Lopez's wise-cracking humor, and the alluring interactions between characters make for an entertaining enough Christmas film."

KJ

Activist and Actress, America Ferrera, the Daughter of Immigrants

 

Actress America Ferrera made a splash with her powerful feminist monologue in the blockbuster movie Barbie, made headlines this summer after her role in the Hollywood blockbuster Barbie.  Ferrera has built a career fighting against labels that people place on her.

An activist as well as an actress, Ferrera has been named as one of the BBC's 100 Women for 2023. She was interviewed with BBC 100 Women to talk about the need to create better spaces for women - and her experience growing up in a family of immigrants.  Ferrera is the daughter of Honduran immigrants.

KJ

Anti-Immigrant Riot in Dublin

 

 

Europe has been bnsy this week on the anti-immigration front.  Yesterday, Ireland’s prime minister condemned anti-immigrant protesters who rampaged through Dublin after a stabbing of children rumored to have been committed by an immigrant. 

"Police arrested 34 people after Thursday night’s rioting when up to 500 people looted shops, set fire to vehicles and threw rocks at crowd control officers equipped with helmets and shields.  The violence began after rumors circulated that a foreign national was responsible for the attack outside a Dublin school on Thursday afternoon. Authorities haven’t disclosed the suspect’s nationality."

According to the Associated Press, "Thursday’s unrest came amid rising tensions over immigration in Ireland that mirror trends in other parts of Europe. Earlier this year, people carrying signs reading `Ireland is full' demonstrated in Dublin, and protesters blockaded a hotel housing asylum-seekers in County Clare on the west coast. . . .

Commissioner Drew Harris, head of Ireland’s national police force, described those who took part in Thursday’s unrest as a `complete lunatic hooligan faction driven by far-right ideology.'”

KJ

UPDATE (11/26):

NPR report on the riot and the stabbing that led to the riot..

 

 

At the Movies: Esto es Frontera/At the Border

 

 

Rommel H. Ojeda for Documented reviews the documentary Esto es Frontera/At the Border.”   In that film, "directors Braulio Jatar and Anaïs Michel . . . follow the lives of two trocheros, people who are familiar with the geography of an area and help others navigate it. . . . Filmed in the city of Cúcuta, the documentary depicts the crisis that has been brewing at the crossroads of the Colombian and Venezuelan border. Since 2014, more than 7.7 million Venezuelans have been compelled to leave their country to seek refuge in neighboring countries and beyond."

KJ 

Geraldo Rivera Predicts Trump 'Will Be Cruel' With 'Draconian' Immigration Plan

 

Weighing in on Donald Trump’s reported plans to launch an immigration crackdown if elected to a second term, media personality Geraldo Rivera said he believes that the former president will follow through if given the opportunity.

“I believe he is serious. I believe that in his mind, he sees a very simplistic answer to this problem. You know, brutality,” the former Fox News host told CNN’s Jim Acosta.

Update (Nov. 15):  For visual learners, here is what a return of President Trump to the White House might bring to immigration.

 

KJ

At the Movies: At the Gates (2023)

 

The new film At the Gates is now playing at theaters in New York and Los Angeles.   IMDb summarizes the plot of the new movie as follows:  "A housekeeper from El Salvador brings her son to help her clean an affluent family's Los Angeles home. After being told by her employers that immigration officers are searching for her, she accepts the invitation to shelter in their house."  The film's website elaborates:

"Ana Ibarra . . . , a housekeeper from El Salvador, has been working for the Barris family for eight months when she first brings her teenage son Nico . . . to help her. Told by the Barrises that their family’s home has been visited by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents looking for the mother and son during a sweeping crackdown, the pair is grateful when Marianne (Miranda Otto) offers to let them stay in the house until the situation can be sorted out. Her attorney husband Peter (Noah Wyle) appears reluctant to have Ana and Nico stay and imposes a series of strict conditions: Don’t leave the house, don’t stand near windows, turn over all cell phones, stay out of his office and spend nights hidden away in a locked storage space in the basement.

After several days without further visits from ICE, Nico begins to bristle under the restrictions. Breaking the rules and wandering through the house at night, he surprises the Barrises’ teenage daughter Lauren (Sadie Stanley), who has her own misgivings about the Ibarras’ presence.

As time goes by and tensions mount, each family begins to question the other’s motivations in this riveting and emotional thriller."

I look forward to seeing the movie but admit that I am not sure what I will think of it.  Part of a review from Indie Wire did intrigue me:  "“At the Gates” convincingly argues that self-involved U.S. citizens are blind or indifferent to the uncertainty that haunts so many of the immigrants who come here in search of a better life, even — and perhaps especially — when they rely on those people as indispensable workers and adopt them into their own homes `like members of the family.'"

KJ

Green Gold Land | L.A. Times Short Docs

 

This interesting documentary (Green Gold land) might interest ImmigrationProf blog readers:   "Two Chinese immigrants hope for a brighter future in the cannabis cultivation industry, but their journey unfolds bitterly. . . . In `Green Gold Land,' we follow Ho Shi-Cheng, a cannabis grower, who travels to Oklahoma to teach other Chinese immigrants how to cultivate the plant. We also feature another immigrant from California, who lost his savings trying to get started in the business.

Many Asians we spoke to in Oklahoma have been in the United States for decades, but live on the economic margins and aren’t fluent in English. For them, the hope of riches in the cannabis industry hasn’t materialized. There are no winners in this story. And yet, we found perseverance even in the face of failure. This film is not only about cannabis. It is about immigrants struggling to have a shot at the American dream.

This documentary is the first part of [an] investigative reporting project in association with the Investigative Reporting Program at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism."

KJ

At the Movies: Runner A film by Bill Gallagher

 

Bullfrog Films presents...Runner from Bullfrog Films on Vimeo.

Runner A film by Bill Gallagher 87 min | English SDH Captions | Scene Selection Subtitle options: French, Bahasa, Lithuanian, Thai

View this email in your browser “If hope needed a home, Runner would deliver the perfect dwelling place." Sarah Hillyer, Founder and Director, Center for Sport, Peace, and Society, University of Tennessee-Knoxville Runner A film by Bill Gallagher 87 min | English SDH Captions | Scene Selection Subtitle options: French, Bahasa, Lithuanian, Thai When he was only 8 years old, Guor Mading Maker ran from captivity in war-torn Sudan to eventually seek safety in the US. In his new life, Maker began running again, participating in high school track and field and eventually becoming a sensation and qualifying for the 2012 Olympics. But because the newly formed South Sudan was not recognized by the International Olympic Committee, Maker had to fight to compete independently, refusing to run for Sudan and taking a stand against its oppression. Runner depicts Maker’s difficult and triumphant journey from refugee to a world-renowned athlete, told in intimate interviews with gorgeously animated flashbacks of Guor’s upbringing, and culminating in a heart-wrenching reunion with his parents after a 20-year separation. Runner is now available on DVD with public performance rights for purchase and rental by schools, libraries, and other organizations. Academic streaming can be licensed from Docuseek. Campus and community groups interested in hosting a community screening can book now through Bullfrog Communities. Order the Film Request a Preview WATCH THE TRAILER KJ