Original subtitles

(man on TV speaking Spanish)

Illegal immigration is out of control.

Our borders are unprotected.

We need to build the wall!

If we don't-- (Adam speaking Spanish)

(Adam grunting)

(women gasping)

Closed Captions Provided by truTV

Uh, sorry, no habla Espa?ol.

But you just did.

Oh, I was just phonetically

pronouncing the words in my phrase book.

This puppy has gotten me kicked out of a lot of taquerias.

The fact is building a wall would actually

increase the number of illegal immigrants in America.

What? How could it possibly?

Here, I'll show you.

Just building a wall would be practically impossible.

This is where it would be.

(dog squeals)

It would have to stretch over 2,000 miles of rough terrain...

cutting through mountains,

rivers, villages

and even people's homes.

And all that destruction is monstrously expensive.

Just building the wall

would cost between $15 and $25 billion.

(woman gasps)

It would easily be one of the single most

expensive pieces of infrastructure

in American history costing as much as 20 Hoover Dams

or NASA's entire annual budget.

(man) That's one small step for man,

one giant wall for no reason.

Not to mention the astronomical cost

of staffing and maintaining the wall,

which taxpayers like you and your children

will be stuck paying forever.

I paid for the wall.

My father's father paid for the wall.

And one day you will pay for the wall.

Because this is Wall World.

Even just faking the wall for our show

was prohibitively expensive.

Looks like our CGI budget ran out.

Okay, yes, it may be expensive

but that doesn't change the fact

that once we build it, it will work.

Not like you think.

Increasing security at the border

will never stop illegal immigration.

Why not?

No one's getting passed me.

Yes, they are because it's estimated that

between 27% and 40% of all undocumented immigrants

in America came here on planes.

(plane passing)

I forgot about planes.

These immigrants didn't sneak over the border.

They came here legally through passport control,

then just overstayed their visas.

And guess what? A border wall's

not gonna stop 'em because, reminder...

You fools!

You forgot about planes!

We always forget about planes!

Even by your estimate of visa overstays,

the wall would still stop about half

of America's 11 million illegal immigrants.

No, it wouldn't.

'Cause of a little something called circular flow.

Here, I'll show you.

(dog yelps)

For decades, immigration to the U.S. was a circular flow.

People would come, work for a bit

and then after they were done, go home to their families.

Meet Douglas Massey.

Thanks, Adam.

My arms were getting pretty tired waiting for my cue.

He's a professor at Princeton

and a pioneering researcher on this topic.

When the Reagan, Bush and Clinton administrations

drastically increased border

enforcement in response

to public opinion,

they stopped that circular flow.

Not by keeping people out, but by keeping people in.

(Douglas) As it got harder and harder to go back and forth,

people crossing the border decided

they were much better off just staying in the U.S.

If I go back to Mexico now,

he won't let me back in the U.S.

I guess I'll just stay here... in Tucson.

Ironically, this increase in border enforcement

caused the number of undocumented immigrants

living in the United States to skyrocket by 248%.

It's counterintuitive, but building a wall

wouldn't stop people from coming in.

It would actually stop them from going back.

In fact, the whole idea of building a border wall

is misguided.

The Mexican economy is doing quite well right now

and population growth has slowed way down.

So, there's not much pressure to emigrate.

The number of illegal border crossings

is actually at an all-time low.

If you're a professor, then why are you in the desert?

I'm not, I'm a mirage.

(gasping) Hey!

Look, we already have what has to be the most

militarized border between any two nations at peace.

So, the real issue of immigration

isn't the people coming in.

The fact is, they're already here.

Nearly one out of every 30 people in America

is an unauthorized immigrant.

Hm, the only thing a wall stops

is a discussion of actual solutions.

(man speaking Spanish on TV)

Oh, my God, Adam, you're right.

The wall isn't the answer.

Oh, good, I'm so glad I could help.

Millions of people are already here.

We need to deport them.

Yes! Deportation is the answer.

No...

(gasping) Alfonso!

(speaking Spanish)

Hola, amigos.

Uh, hi.

Who is this?

This is Alfonso.

He busts common misconceptions on his show,

"Alfonso Explica Todo."

It's really popular in Mexico.

That sounds like a lot my show.

Huh?

I'm sorry, Alfonso, but I don't believe it.

Why wouldn't we deport people who came here illegally?

Can I help?

Not what I meant, but uh...

Why you warring yourself? Why you warring yourself?

(grunts)

Hey, you all saw what he did.

You all saw.

I'm gonna do war.

Oh, are you talking about how the U.S. straight up attacked

Mexico and took millions of square miles of their land

just because we could?

Mine. All mine.

S?.

Wait... all of those states were part of Mexico?

So, the people living there were Mexican.

S?.

("Stars and Stripes Forever" playing)

(whistling)

Welcome to America!

This is America now.

Then why is this called New Mexico?

Ah, that's just a placeholder.

The Depression isn't my fault.

I'm just a little sweetie pie.

It's those damn Mexicans.

We must rid ourselves of criminal aliens.

Get out! Scram! Back to Mexico!

But this was Mexico.

Well, if they weren't citizens.

Actually...

Uh, I was actually born in Nevada.

Nevada? Never heard of it!

What the heck is that, some kind of chalupa?

Out! Out!

During this period, the U.S. deported nearly one million

of our own citizens just because they had brown skin.

(speaking Spanish)

We want you!

Please come back! We need you, baby.

(broadcaster) Mexicans helping with the war effort.

They...

...an make our burritos.

See, they came here legally and they helped win the war.

This will make a great anecdote when I run for office.

That's an inspiring American story.

Uhn, I'll just leave that part out.

Changed our minds. We hate Mexicans again.

Let's get 'em all out of here and implement Operation Wetback.

What?!

That's an awful slur.

You couldn't call it anything else?

Uh, how about Operation (bleep).

Ugh! Hey!

Hey! You asked me to come here.

Eh, we're fickle. Get out!

(man grunts)

Not only were these programs explicitly racist,

they were a human rights disaster.

Thousands of families were detained and separated.

They were crowded onto boats

described as 18th century slave ships.

And those who went by sea were lucky.

88 braceros died after being left in the desert.

Not only was this program unconscionably inhumane,

it destroyed the image of America as a bastion

of freedom and equality

for a generation of Mexican-Americans.

Oh, please don't yell at me, I have an inner ear infection.

Let me be very clear,

these mass deportation programs

are one of the most shameful chapters in America's history.

They solved nothing.

Their only outcome was suffering and death.

Ah, mi hija.

I don't understand.

This is a great country. How could this happen?

Great countries make mistakes.

True greatness is in not repeating them.

I don't know what to say.

Uh, hey, Alfonso.

You were great and we learned a lot,

uh, but I think it's time we get home.

I didn't know our history was so horrible.

Things are different now.

We're better now, right?

What?! Let me look.

No, this is a mistake.

We'll go to the court and we'll explain.

I'm sure once they hear us out, they'll be reasonable.

Ah, I hate to say this,

but the U.S. immigration court system is, uh,

como se dice "clusterfudge?"

I don't understand, Abuela.

This isn't a place for people like us.

This is for people who came here the wrong way.

I'm sure they're going to give you a fair hearing.

I'm sorry but our Nation's immigration courts

are a total mess.

It's not just pieces of it that are messed up,

the entire system is one big judicial garbage fire.

But Abuela didn't come here illegally.

She just lost her paperwork.

Right. All kinds of people

are scooped up into these courts.

Some were apprehended at the border or committed a crime,

others were picked up for a minor traffic violation.

And some just lost their paperwork.

I came here to study finance, but I lost my passport

at the Burning Man.

Some came here legally.

Others not so much.

The purpose of this court is to determine which is which.

See, Abuela, I'm sure they're gonna see

that you deserve to be here.

Here's the problem, less than 2%

of what we spend on immigration annually

is devoted to these courts.

Sorry.

There are just 57 immigration courts across the U.S.

Think about that.

We have 30 times as many Radio Shacks

as we do immigration courts.

And there are definitely more folks with immigration problems

then there are people who need Blackberry holsters.

The immigration courts currently have an insane backlog of

489,000 cases.

(Cajun accent) Hot dang! Boy, that's a number

higher than the population of New Orleans.

Wait, a Cajun guy?

You're an American. Why are you here?

Chere baby, they don't understand me when I talk.

They think I'm speaking the French.

Oh, yeah.

Now you see that I'm dealing with there, boy.

Sure, they think that's it all right.

I'm just a man trying to raise a family

on $2.50 a month.

Come on, chere baby...

This underfunded system has so few immigration judges

that each one handles 1,500 cases a year.

And unlike regular judges, they can actually be fired

for not working fast enough.

Deported. (gavel bangs) Deported. (gavel bangs)

Deported. (gavel bangs) Deported. (gavel bangs)

Deported. (gavel bangs) Deported. (gavel bangs)

(muffled) Deported. (gavel bangs) Deported. (gavel bangs)

Deported. (gavel banging) Deported. Deported.

Deported. Deported. Deported. Deported...

Even worse the vast majority of respondents

go through this system without a lawyer.

Wait, what about public defenders?

Nope, unlike regular, or lets be frank...

real courts, immigration courts do not provide lawyers,

even to unaccompanied minors.

Children? They don't give lawyers to children?

(baby cooing)

Objection overruled.

(cooing) Sustained.

One more outburst and I'm having you detained.

Not to mention the severe language barrier.

In some cases, interpreters are only available over the phone.

(man on phone speaking Spanish)

What'd she say?

(man on phone) Uh, something about Nintendo.

This is Xbox country.

Deport her.

This has to be an exaggeration. It can't possibly be this bad.

No, often it's much worse.

Some detention centers are so remote,

defendants can't even be physically present in court,

so the government conducts hearings

via Skype or televideo.

I ha-- Ameri-- citizensh--

Should I reboot her?

No, just deport her.

What? Wait-wait-wait!

Wait! No-no-no-no! No!

Think about it, that means you can have

a hearing where the judge is in the courtroom,

the translator is talking over the phone,

and the defendant is on a webcam.

This is really happening in immigration courtrooms

all across America as we speak.

And it's no surprise that under this cacamany process,

huge mistakes happen constantly.

Meet Professor Jackie Stevens.

She works closely with people trapped in this system.

Reporting on their stories

and connecting them with legal counsel.

Thanks, Adam. Gabby, this system regularly

deports American citizens.

American citizens? Really?

Yes. In fact, in 2009,

I got to know a man named Mark Lyttle.

He is a U.S. citizen with mental disabilities

who was deported in what was called a mass removal.

The judge asked a group of 30 men over televideo

to raise their hands if they objected to being deported.

The judge recorded seeing no hands.

When he later told them that he was born

in North Carolina, no one listened.

(Jackie) He was deported to Mexico where officials there

discovered he wasn't a Mexican citizen.

He was deported, yet again, to Honduras.

And they deported him to Guatemala.

Police in Guatemala finally found Mark Lyttle

sleeping on a park bench thousands of miles from home.

Ah, so he finally got to go home right?

(Jackie) Yes, but when he arrived in Atlanta,

they detained him again.

That's awful.

Yes, and shockingly common.

According to my research, more than 20,000 U.S. citizens

have been detained or deported since 2003.

20,000... citizens?

Yes. The system is so broken that-- to this--

deported-- (video glitching)

This system is so broken, natural born American citizens

like you and me are deported all the time.

Whether you're conservative,

or liberal, or somewhere in between,

you have to face the fact that what our immigration system

does to people is contrary to every American value.

If even I could be...

what chance does my abuela have?

I'm so sorry. I'll do anything I can to help.

My sister's a lawyer.

I'm not sure what type, but...

I'm sure she could suggest somebody.

What's the point? Why even stay in America?

What?

I didn't quite follow that, but it sounded really sad.

(speaking Spanish)

Yes, I think I do.

We are Americans and it's up to us to stay

and make this country a better place.

Muy bien.

You're right, Abuela.

I'm going to take some courses in immigration law.

We're going to get the money together and hire a lawyer.

We're gonna fix this, whatever it takes.

I promise.

And... thanks, Adam.

This hasn't been easy, but we really appreciate your help.

Wow, I'm honored.

Now, could you hold for room tone?

No?

Okay, well, good luck.

You know, amigo, you explain things well.

Not with my flare of course.

Thank you, Alfonso.

Vamanos. There's work to be done.

Ah... Adam.

What?!

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