Los Trabajadores/ The Workers

Sarah Samson — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 13:32:00 GMT

Monday night, the documentary film, Los Trabajadores/The Workers screened at the library. I was pleased with the attendance (28); clearly there are folks in Round Rock who care about the immigration issue and how it affects us here in central Texas. The film's director, Heather Courtney,was in attendance as well. For those of you who haven't seen the film, Los Trabajadores follows two Austin day laborers as they struggle to support their families living in other countries.

The film brought me to tears at points; Courtney has really put a human face on the issue of immigration. Both of these immigrants feel strongly about their "right" to be here in the U.S.: "What I did was to come here illegally and this is against the law of the United States. But it is not against the law of my family." --Ramon Castillo Aparicio. "I will be deported and I don't care... I will have to face the judge and... tell him that we are human beings, the same as his parents and other people who come to the United States as immigrants. We are doing the same thing." --Juan Ignacio Gutierrez.

Following the film, Courtney took questions from the audience. One woman asked Courtney if she thought one of the reasons why people are so angry at immigrants is because they are a drain on the healthcare system. Courtney answered that most immigrants would never go to the hospital or the doctor because they would be too afraid of being deported.

If you would like to see the film, you can check it out at the Round Rock Library.

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Los Trabajadores/ The Workers