Every immigrant comes to America with the same purpose, in hopes of attaining a better life, financial stability and seeking life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for the generations to come. Yet, many times we greet them with names such as illegal alien, viewing them as some sort of invader undeserving of the same desires as everyone else. In the documentary Farmingville, filmmakers Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini capture the heart and soul of the dispute between the residents of the community and the Mexican immigrants who migrate with intentions of finding work. Every weekI hear a story in the news regarding our immigration policy, often debating whether or not people who enter the country illegally should be allowed to stay and work or be shipped back to wherever they came from. In the 1990s, the US saw the …show more content…
One resident described the neighborhood as once an “diverse, middles class, low crime neighborhood, before the day laborers arrived — a opinion common amongst several citizens. One resident, Margaret Bianculli- Dyber organized a group to protest the day laborers. The day laborers would stand on the streets in large numbers hoping to find an employer passing by in a nearby car. However, what they often received was remarkably different. Residents began making allegations that the workers were soliciting sex on the street and disturbing the neighborhood. Disgruntled residents took to the streets, holding up signs that said “illegal aliens are invaders” and “use the military to deport workers”. Over the next two years, residents took extreme measures with the intent of getting rid of the day laborers. The day laborers were targets of random acts of violence. One man reported his house being sprayed with gunfire, while another man claimed rocks and bottles were thrown at his home. The disdain for the Farmingville day laborers soon spread to the youth as well. In July 2000, a young mother was killed by an illegal immigrant driving