>> is a chance at a better life worth leaving loved ones behind? >> did omar get a chance to tell you goodbye before he left? >> which side of the fence are you on? >> sometimes immigration is the only alternative people have. borderland only on al jazeera america ♪ ♪ ♪ good everything, thanks for joining us for the weekend edition of "america tonight." i am joie chen, we begin this hour with the latest quest for oil in one of the america's most cherished wild lands that has long been rumored a sea of black gold lies underneath southwest florida in the every glades, many say there is no way to get

to it without poisoning the very thing that makes life there possible a an abundance of clean water al jazerra's adam may reports. [ chanting no drilling ] >> air is dieing, water is dieing, the people is getting sick. wake up before you kill the creation of god's gift. thank you. [applause] >> reporter: one by one they stepped up to the microphone to voice their fears and tell their stories. >> my brother died last year at 51. my sister died the year before at 50. i am 49 years old . and i just got out of the hospital with a lung removed. i don't want my kids to die like my family did. get them out. >> reporter: so it went for more than four hours. at a recent hearing of state and federal officials in southwest florida.

the reason for their anger, a plan to drill for oil next to the everglades wilderness. [ what do you went? >> reporter: new techniques are making it possible to drill in areas where it was once difficult. but many say the resulting waste wastewater will be toxic. >> i just hope people realize this is about clean water. >> reporter: among those in the crowd, pamela and jaime duran, they live a little more than a stone's throw from one. >> reporter: proposed oil wells. >> ground zero is down there and it's a thousand feet to where it is. >> reporter: this is it. you will be able to see this, pretty clear has? so the well would be right about there? >> the well would be in line with that tree about i say about 400 -- the beginning o of it will be 400 feet from here. this is part of the watershed

that feeds the everglades. >> reporter: jaime is a retired engineer, pam had an artist. they live in a set that go can only be described as fairytale. >> it's a little piece of paradise. weigh this was taye healthy way to retire. >> reporter: you call it a little piece of paradise. >> yes. there are no noises here, you don't hear anything at night. you hear crickets and that's about as loud as it gets at night . >> reporter: if an oil well goes in next door it will mean noise, dust, and dozens of trucks passing the duran's home each day. but one thing worries them movement. as part of the drilling, millions of gallons of wastewater mixed with women challes injected back in to the ground. they fear it will poison their water supply. >> there is a spill it will eventually get to this water well. >> reporter: and this is water you cook with? >> we cook. >> reporter: you drink? >> we drink. >> reporter: you bathe?

>> yes. >> reporter: you feel confidence the water is good right now? >> it is good. >> reporter: if the well goes through. >> if the well goes through there is a possibility that this water may be tainted. >> reporter: but they say that the injection process will not taint your well. >> it's tainted others. >> it's tainted others. it's tainted water in pennsylvania, ohio, in new york. >> reporter: the duran's along with several fans have gotten together to fight the proposed oil wells. they recently held a beachfront rally at the governor's vacation home and turned their front yard in to a giant billboard. >> we are worried about the three-month old next door. >> yeah. >> you know, if the water is contaminated and you bathe a baby in that kind of without what, will happen five years down the road for this child? we need clean water, clean air. it's not political. it's a human rights issue, everybody deserves it. >> reporter: it's not just

humans the durans worry bench the oil well next to them would also be less than a mile from the florida panther national wildlife refuge. the refuge and the area surrounding it, is the last sanctuary for these endangered animals. >> there are days that i have been out here doing research where the colleagues and i, we have seen female mother panther with her two offspring and then 10-foot alligators sitting right near there. >> reporter: ian is a biologist for the conservancy of southwest florida. a local environmental group. he took us to one place the panthers roam. a place where cameras are rarely allowed. right now, we are just down the street from one of the proposed well sites and oddly enough, the government is spending is hundreds of millions of dollars to restore the everglades. this used to be a housing development. and now it's being given back to

nature. southern golden gate estates was going to be the largest subdivision in america. home to half a million people. but when the development failed, some of those nearly extinction panthers moved in. the government has deemed this land more than 50,000 acres adjacent to the panther refuge, as vital to the survival of the everglades ecosystem. its animals and plants depend on clean water. an oil well accident just to the north could be disastrous. let's say upstream from here there was some sort of a chemical spill or industrial accident. and it got in to the water up there. would that affect this area as well? biologically speaking. >> so if that water is moving and there was a major disturbance, quite likely that would have implications downstream. this is a pretty special place. >> reporter: the current search for oil isn't the first time this land has seen a rush to

exploit its natural resources. >> yeah, let's head up there. >> reporter: wow. >> this is an amazing spot. and an amazing organism. >> reporter: what's it called? what's its technical name? >> this is a balanced cyprus, it's an old growth cyprus tree, probably been here for 500 years, this forest used to go dominated by trees this size the logging element that came through removed 99.9% of these trees here the few we find are scattered way out in the swamps and mostly hollow like this one. >> reporter: now it's oil, not lumber, that's attracting industry to this unique landscape. but what a lot of people don't know, not even in florida, is that there is already oil drilling going on in the greater everglades. this area isn't open to the public, the national park service gave us a special tour. >> inning bound marker six. marker six. >> reporter: about 25 miles from

the newly proposed wells, several existing wells pump away day and night . they are located deep in the heart of the big cyprus national preserve. and so they have drilling operations taking part here on national park service territory? >> yes. >> reporter: and how many oil wells are here right now? >> approximately seven, eight. >> reporter: don hargrove oversees oil and gas operations inside big cyprus, the new wells will use some of the same technology as these. including injecting wastewater in to the ground. if you were to see dozens are more operations like this scattered throughout the greater everglades area, could that ecosystem hands that would? >> it depends on the operator, how responsible they are. it really does. >> reporter: overall, how do you feel this operation is run something. >> i think they have done a very good job over the years.

i do. >> reporter: there is no telling if the company drilling the new wells would have the same approach. and there have been reports of leaks at some injection sites across the united states. but here, the park service regularly tests the water. and says it has never seen any evidence of contamination. hargrove says at the worst, these wells are a short-term eyesore. in your experience, have there been any environmental problems related to the oil drilling here so far in florida? >> in any impact on the surface, any construction, anything, you can consider that an impact. however, they usually are temporary. yothey are not there forever. they are removed and restored at some point. >> reporter: believe it or not, less than 40 year old ago this used to be the site of an oil drilling operation. all of the equipment has been removed and it's been turned back to nature. some say this is proof that oil

drilling can be done in an environmentally responsible manner. others say it should have always looked like this. you may wonder why drilling is even allowed on national park land. well, the rights to the oil under much of big cyprus and some 800,000 acres across southwest florida belong to the descendants of baron collier, once the largest land own never the state. the collier companies are behind the new plans to drill. we left several necessary hess question messages withcollier companies t unanswered so we came to their headquarters and i tracked down a company spokeswomen and she said they had no comments. >> in previous statements to the residents, they say the proposed oil wells will be safe. the florida department of environmental protection agrees. in a statement, they told us that the wells meet its requirements. designed to protect fresh water aquifers, as for the panthers,

it says the u.s. fish and wildlife service, which runs the panther refuge, didn't have any objections to the proposed drilling. the durans aren't buying it. they don't believe the thirst for oil justifies risking their slice of paradise. the well slated for the field next to their house still has at least one significant hurdle to clear, getting a permit from the federal e.p.a. if that happens, the durans aren't sure what they'll do. they have already talked about moving. >> people get upset when the rain forest goes, but we are letting the everglades go. this is a special place. would they let oil drilling in the grand canyon? where are they going to stop? is there anything sacred. that's al jazerra's adam may. looking ahead to next week on our program. more trouble in the sunshine state. >> they can get you. make your life miserable, you know, taunting you, harassing

you, turning your water off. the police sitting outside your house every time you move. those type things could really happen. missing money, missing water, missing patrol cars, a mismanaged town all around. al jazerra's sheila macvicar brings us a southern gothic town of alleged sin and redemption in a florida town dubbed the most corrupt in america. she'll have her story monday on al jazerra. coming up next in this hour, seeds of doubt. is it a rare childhood disease or evidence of abuse? the dilemma facing doctors and worrying parents an in-depth look at a disturbing medical syndrome next. ♪ ♪ >> what excites me about detroit is the feeling of possibility... >> the re-birth of an america city >> we're looking at what every city can learn

from detroit, >> the industrial revival entrepreneurs driving growth communities fighting back... >> we're fighting for you and we're taking these neighborhoods back, for you. >> a special look at the moves adding fuel to the motor city five days in detroit only on al jazeera america.

>> these protestors have decided that today they will be arrested >> these people have chased a president from power, they've torn down a state... >> what's clear is that people don't just need protection, they need assistance. this is one of the worst things a parents can imagine. first learning that a child is seriously ill.

but then that the doctors suspect it's actually the parents causing the illness. it is rare, but it does happen. in massachusetts right now, there is a case making headlines involving parents who say they have been wrongly accused, still their daughter has been taken away from them for over a year, al jazerra correspondent lisa stark takes a look now at this complicated issue . >> reporter: mike many five year olds, gabriel is talkative, love rockets and wants to play. on this morning gabriel rarely slow downs even as he hauls around a back pub pump that gives him nutrition and drains his inning advertise 10. his mother says he's autistic and has a rare and poorly understood medical condition called might owe condrey el disease. >> they are diseases in which the part of the cell that

produces energy to use doesn't work properly. the body doesn't make enough energy to keep the vital functions working. >> reporter: but as gabriel takes dozens of medications a day really sick? some doctors were suspicious and accused hits mother of what used to be called munchausen by proxy now known as medical child abuse. >> reporter: how did you filed out that you were under sus spur. >> unwhen the doctor shoulder up and said we were filing with dcfs. that was not a good way to find out. >> reporter: the massachusetts state child welfare agency. a doctor on the boston as children hospital called dcf to report the hill jarreds for possible medical child abuse . >> medical child abuse say spec it up. on one end you have parents that exaggerate symptoms in their children.

that's a lot more innocent than the other end of the spectrum where parents actually induce illness, they inject them with things they suffocate them and actually harm their child in order to get the child to have more and more invasive and further medical care . >> when all a child with a disease that is not understood the doctors can be suspicious. when medical abuse really happens the way it presents is medical symptoms that nobody can explain. >> reporter: and the hilliards didn't have just one child with complicate the and controversial medical problems, they had two. gabriel's older system, was born with birth defects largely corrected through surgery. but she was then diagnosed with mitochondrial disorder which can run in families. >> you can see this was in the hospital, wasn't it? >> in the hospital. i was sitting in her bed and you can't see it but all of her

tubes and wires come behind her and out. we did a really good job of concealing them for the picture. >> reporter: she says her daughter had a much more difficult case and developed multiple organ failure. she died just shy of her fifth birthday. unlike his sister, gabriel was born with no apparent medical problems. but just a few months after losing their daughter, jessica and shawn hilliard were back at the hospital. this time with gabriel. telling doctors he now seemed to be showing signs of the same illness that killed his sister. >> these are my daughter's medical records. >> reporter: jessica says that for some hospital personnel that raised a red flag and the charge of medical child abuse. >> it's very difficult to describe exactly how dramatic that was for our family. it could be in the midst of grief of losing our child and be accused of harming one of our children statement it was an indescribable experience. it was terrible. >> reporter: she said she was sreflgdeinvestigatedded by the t

just once, but twice. the state found the allegations unsupported and the investigations were closed. the second accusation came when they moved gabriel to a new hospital the allegations from the first doctors followed them . >> they called the child protection team at the new hospital and accused us a again. >> reporter: medical child abuse cases can be difficult to uncover and prove. these are often complex medical cases. they are not that common. but doctors at any large children's hospital will tell you, they have seen them. some estimates suggest medical child abuse makes up about 1,000 of the 2.5 million cases of child abuse reported every year. but there are no reliable numbers. because the abuse can take years to uncover and is often missed. just and the man who prosecuted one of the nation's most notorious cases, that of florida resident kathy bush.

her daughter jennifer, who had seemed constantly sick, was 11. when her mom went on trial. >> this is a chart we used in trial to show the injury how many days each month the child was in the hospital. >> reporter: during the years her child was untreatment kathy bush became a media darling and even attracted the attention of then first lady hillary clinton who highlighted the family's struggle to tackle jennifer's illnesses and pay mounting health care bills. prosecutors found jessica's hospitalizations often coincided with her mother's fundraising events. >> you can see this unbelievable amount of time this child had to spend when realistically there was no medical justification for her being in the hospital at all. >> reporter: jessica's abuse only came to light when nurses in two hospitals stepped forward with suspicion about the mother's behavior and her interaction with jennifer. >> we documented 38 surgical procedures that had been

performed on this child, some of them were very serious, such as removing parts of the intestine and the gallbladder and issues like that. >> reporter: they were able to prove to the injury that kathy bush had systematically overdosed her child with a powerful seizure medication. bush was convicted in 2,000 sentence today five years in jail. as for jennifer, once removed from her mother's care, she was found to be perfectly healthy. one of the prosecution star witnesses was pediatrician and harvard professor dr. eli knew burger, he says the evidence in the kathy bush was was enough to put her behind bars, but that doctors can report suspicions without much tangible evidence and families are left to defends themselves under intense scrutiny. so here is the question, if i am a doctor and i am at all concerned or suspicious, don't i want to era on thro side of helg that child, don't i want to report right way?

>> this is the dilemma fa doctors. the threshold for mandated reporting where you have to make a report of suspicion of child abuse to a child protection agency, that's threshold is set very low. >> reporter: but should it be? >> it's got to be, because otherwise cases will not be brought to the attention that they should be. >> she was crying hysterical. the family was crying. >> reporter: a case now in the spotlight is that of 15-year-old justina, of west hartford, connecticut. doctorate boston's childrens reported her parents. the parents and another doctor insisted she needed treatment for might ow might owe might owl disease, doctors believed it was all in the child's head made worse by her parents. massachusetts officials took custody of justina more than a year ago. her mother was recently overcome after another failed attempt in court to win her daughter back.

>> it's almost never black and white in the complex cases. >> reporter: new abouts burger consults occasions nationwide he has seen an alarming number of instances where he believes parents are wrongly accused hes the system is not set up to protect the children who are being harmed as well as families who have done no harm. >> overworked child protection workers don't have the time to diligently review the cases and most importantly they don't have the money much less the will to get independent outside consultation. and as a consequence, tragic errors occur. on both sides. >> reporter: as for gabriel, he's still being treated for mitochondrial disease given the family history of the disorder, there is not one definitive test for all patients so hilliard is still worried she could face another investigation. >> to be accused of hurting our children was like a punch in the

gut. it was, you know, unfathomable. i was so angry and offended that people would look at our efforts and see harm instead of, you know, dedication and love. there has to be a middle ground here and we haven't managed to find it yet where you are able to investigate suspicions that a child is being harmed without completely destroying the family. >> reporter: so far that middle ground has been hard to come by. lisa stark, al jazerra boston. ♪ ♪ when we return, our look at the other america, the surprise on the street even success and education can't protect america's middle class from joining the ranks of the long-term unemployment. [ grunting ]

i'm taking off, but, uh, don't worry. i'm gonna leave the tv on for you. and if anything happens, don't forget about the new xfinity my account app. you can troubleshoot technical issues here. if you make an appointment, you can check out the status here. you can pay the bill, too. but don't worry about that right now. okay. how do i look? ♪ thanks. [ male announcer ] troubleshoot, manage appointments, and bill pay from your phone. introducing the xfinity my account app.

♪ ♪ here say stark reality to consider. the number of long-term unemployed in this country. americans volunteer who have been out of work for more than six months has hit record highs. this bill on capitol hill right now would retore unemployment benefits, but it faces an uncertain future in the g.o.p. controlled house. what lawmakers must come to grips with is not just the sheer numbers which at one points reached 45%, but that the long-term unemployed are changing. and they are a changed population. their ranks include the

well-educated and eager would-be workers. many who have had great success in previous careers now taking steps back in order to support their families anyway they can. tonight in our continuing series focusing on work and the loss of work, we meet a man doing his best to make it in another america. >> hi, everybody how are you doing? welcome to this beautiful day in chicago. i have three hours of stuff to put in. a lot of fun today. we'll have a lot of different callers, whatever you want to talk about. it's your dime, it's your dance floor. that was my usual inning tomorrow let me star intro.let me start over. i haven't done in a child. i am scott, i am 53 years old. i have been living in bartlett, illinois for the last eight years. it's probably 30 miles, 30, 35 mills west of downtown chicago. i have two daughters, my daughters are 19 and 16.

my wife laura, she is a part-time dietitian. i literally start a radio career with no experience, never took a class in radio. and there was a test on wgn radio and out of -- i believe it was 300 submissions they did choose me. i went in for the audition, i did okay on the audition, they offered me a friday afternoons on the station and i seemed. the salary i made from the radio was a good salary. it wasn't top-notch, but it was decent. but the perks i got were incredible. i ate at restaurants right now if i walked in i would have to be the dis dish wash. that was all taken way. losing the radio show devastated me . motionly emotionally, financially, that's where my depression came n i don't go to a gimme just spends

time with my dogs they enjoy it . good girls. this is my therapy. this is my relaxation. economics has hurt my marriage. this is my way of getting away with my dogs, clears my mind, clears my soul. every day, they are there when i wake up, when i go to work, dogs are man's best friend. basically i get up every day and then go right to the computer and really try to find jobs is what i am really trying to find. it's caused a major problem in my marriage . because the entertainment is not steady . minus 3 degrees out, i am going to go do inside sales. call those people. one after another and try to get commission. it's not much, but it's better than nothing .

i am currently working part time as inside salesperson. triple-a painting contractors, they are in wheaten. just calls after calls trying to get the lead. and then i give it to those guys. they do painting, renovation work. you know, woods, different decks, i get probably 99% hang-ups. it's like, you know, literally get nothing. last week i had two or three leads, this week i had one so far. these are today's list of calls that i have made already since 8:00 this morning. all these scratch off is his what i go through sometimes it gets very annoying when you don't get any leads for the day. my name is scott from triple-a painting contractors, i am scott from triple-a. i am scott from trip triple-a. could i speak for the facilities manager? thank you. there are times that you know, when you are battling depression and go through four days and you get constant

nos, it's hard. it's difficult. you are getting 1% for a job, if i drive all wait to milwaukee and it's 90 miles way, think about the gas there and back, plus my time, it's a half a day at a minimum, i am sitting in this lobby waiting for him for 45 minutes and he gave me all of 12 minutes. so we have to be very specific about what types of people we are going after when we travel outside of. >> 50 miles. >> try county even. >> no problem with the feedback. thank you. see you on monday. >> thanks. >> have a good one. >> i have had a variety of jobs, driving plumbing trucks, laboring as a concrete labo lab, washing semi trucks from 10:00 at night until 4:00 in morning, high rice window washing downtown chicago. i santa there, painted and prepped those window in 95 degrees weather. but that's what i did. that was all my work up there. painted, prepped, when i was done at the end of the week he

literally threw my mon oiling and told me to pick it up. that's what i had to deal with this past summer. i have been the easter bunny this year. i was a rodeo clown. i was doing every type of mascot job you could find, i was doing it. the average mascot age is between 22 and 26. i was in my early 50s. still wearing a costume, in 100-degree weather in 20-degree weather, still performing to try to survive and make a living. this is a fun costume. one thing about this job it makes kids happy. it's been an income. it's work. it's still under the -- under the entertainment umbrella. i did this past year i did 21 shows. here i go. fits a two hour show, i usually do anywhere between 50, 100 photographs. everybody loves santa. gained a little weight. i haven't been home on a christmas eve in the last eight years because i am always working.

every christmas eve, you know, i am working. i am doing usually two to three shows on christmas eve, that's my big night . one of the most bizarre signs i held a sign as lefty the al gate fore eye college textbook and i had a bunch of punks throw, now i can laugh about it. but threw a milk shake at me and hit me in the face, in the head. the depression has taken the energy out of me. i still enjoy it, but it's always is the electric going to shut off when i get home. we are one or two paychecks way from being homeless. just recently, i was very close to suicide. i was -- i felt as though my life is just not worth living. i am financially struggling, a lot of people are.

i felt i am just a waste of talent. i was really down. being these characters that i do, as santa, as all these goofy mascot performances that i have done, yes, i do it, because i need the money. like anything else, i need the income. but at the end of the day, these kids are so happy that they got a picture with whatever goofy character i was, whether it was santa, and i am just in the background, they don't know me, why am, they know me as that character. and that at least makes me feel good . i just want to try to, you know, rebuild myself and, you know, it's like starting over.

but there are a lot of people at my age, 53, nobody wants you. i mean, it's hard. it's difficult to, you know, get back to rivers. and i don't think that will ever happen again. i just hope that the next day will be better. ♪ ♪ when we return, on a long and winding road expectations and surprises. >> i told my kids, you never know what you are going to be in this country. god bless america. >> living the american dream as seen through our new series, driven. the most important money stories of the day might effect your savings, your job or your retirement. whether it's bail-outs or bond rates this stuff gets complicated. but don't worry. i'm here to take the fear out of finance. every night on my show i break

down confusing financial speak and make it real.

prepresident obama has asked congress to extra money to border installations along the u.s. mexican board. $362 million for border fences and towers much in the harsh desert terrain of arizona. but not all the people who live near the border agree with the emphasis on border secure. as rob reports the residents say they are tired of living in a militarized border zone. >> reporter: it's early morning at the border patrol checkpoint in arizona. 40-kilometers north of the line separating the u.s. from mexico. agents with sniffer dogs check

each vehicle as i it passes alog the two-lane road. but at this border checkpoints there is something unusual. >> this is a newer model sedan. >> reporter: a group of citizens monitoring the monitors. >> the dog is sniffing. >> reporter: many people here are fed up with the chris runnings causeed in their daily lives by the checkpoints and by the heavy-handed presence of the border patrol in the area. >> possibly one male, one female, white. >> reporter: lisa jacobson helped organize the checkpoint monitoring. >> many people in this community believe that our community has been treated as if we live in a war zone . >> reporter: they say checkpoints secure the nations borders, unquote. >> i have to go through two border patrol checks every day of my life which, you know, gets

old after a day or two. >> reporter: stacy hatton is a nurse that lives here but works more than 50-kilometer ways, she believe the checkpoint infringes her constitutional rights. >> they can ask me they want and i have no right. i don't think this is what any of our american soldiers fought for. this is not the freedom. this is not the ride to move around freely. >> reporter: the well-armed agents don't make mike feel any safer. >> along the border we have more to fear from the border patrol than border crossers. >> reporter: carlotta ray says the border patrol traumatizes her grandchildren when they take the bus to school . >> it's very upsetting for them to see this every day. they don't understand chicago do we have these military people here with guns and stuff. >> reporter: there is not much to see here itself, although the town of 600 people is surrounded by a majestic desert landscape.

but towns folk are fiercely independent. and used to doing things their own way. people here are not only monitoring what's going on at the border patrol checkpoint, they are also finding ways to help desperate migrants, without breaking the law. it's illegal to drive migrants anywhere or to shelter them. but it's not illegal to help them survive. >> this is a short-term emergency food pack. >> reporter: volunteers stock water and prepare food packets to hands out to hungry migrants. and they keep a cabinet full of basic medical supplies. >> blisters are always a factor. if you get severe blisters which many travelers do, you can't walk, if you can't walk, you get left behind. if you get left behind in this desert, you die. >> reporter: more than 2,000 migrants have died crossing the desert in this area since 2001, according to local officials.

alex says it's only human to help people in need. >> when they come to your door and they do here, and they haven't had water for a long time, they are dehydrated, some of them are driving, some of them have fallen and hurt themselves badly, they haven't had anything to eat. it's just i think a person's responsibility to do something to help somebody. >> reporter: about a third of the people here have signed a petition asking the government to dismantle the check points, but the border patrol told al jazerra that as far as it's concerned the checkpoint isn't going anywhere. >> rob reynolds, al jazerra, arizona. the driver's see seat of a taxicab is a life in constant motion, a life often chosen by those who have uprooted themselves to navigate a new country. the number of foreign-born drivers is skyrocketing in the united states. "america tonight" takes a ride

with a cabby from iraq who is now mapping out the streets of chicago. >> my name, my culture, my religion, my language. >> reporter: chicago cab driving likes to entertain passengers with his own homespun version of cash cab the tv show that pays taxi riders for correct answers to trivia questions. >> they ask me, where are you from? >> and i tell them, this is my cash cab in chicago. >> reporter: his customers don't win any money, but he does offer them a freeride if they can guess his native country on their first try. the winning answer, iraq. est fan grew up in the southern most city. his journey from the middle east to the american midwest is a classic tale of an ambitious immigrant seeking freedom and fortunate. but hbut he fought fought harden most, literally. >> i was a champion. i was beating every champion in

iraq in my weight . >> reporter: in his younger days he dominated the light heavy i weight boxers of iraq, he was iraq's national champion in his weight class . but could not represent his country beyond its borders because of his religious, born a christian in a muslim country. >> every time when i stop and step in the ring i do the cross and pray. some muslims boo me. >> they were to booing you. >> they boo me because i am christian. my family tell me don't stay here, you are a good boxer, you are beating every champion, they don't let you represent iraq, runway from this country. because you are going to be good boxer. >> reporter: in iraq, estefan was seen as an outsider on two counts, not muslim or arab. he is christian and a proud

ethnic group that chase it its heritage and native language aramaic to ancient bob lon as he babylon as he likes to reminds his passengers. >> we are aramaic. jesus spoke our language. >> reporter: in iraq, estefan had to keep his christianity quiet. but here in chicago, in his taxi, he proudly displays it. >> reporter: and i see you have a crucifix here in your car. >> what do you mean? oh, thank good. i am christian all the time i put it there all the time. >> reporter: that pride and his fear that his faith would end his boxing career in iraq, led estefan to leave his trophies behind, pack a suitcase and flee. first for neighboring jordan, then to greece, he was thinking about going to australia next, but then a young woman caught his eye and his life took another abrupt turn. >> she say my family, they are in america, and i am going to go to chicago.

and we are going to stay in chicago. i told her, what do you think you want knee change my plans? she say if you love me, you can come with me. i say, okay, i am going to change my plane. i was changing my plane from a a to chicago. >> reporter: so it was love that brought you here to chicago? >> right. right. right. >> reporter: young love . >> i swear to god see hit me in my heart. she's the first love of my life. >> reporter: so in 1,979th young loverlovers to chicago. carl sandberg's city of big shoulders, like shore drive and wrigley field. all so far removed from theare the land stop of basra. he married anna, like him a christian from iraq. 35 years later they are still happily married. >> from that time until now, my ring on my hands. >> reporter: the same ring you are wearing today? >> the same ring i wear today.

same thing every day is in my hand. i put it in my right hand, you know why? my hands is a broke. >> reporter: your left hand is broke from box something. >> i can't put it on on the left hands. >> reporter: after arrived in chicago, estefan got back in to the ring this, time as a professional. he signed up with a big-time promoters, the former heavyweight champ ernie terrelle. as an american pro he won five boughts and lost two. but by then, he was pushing 30. and the last five, the one that broke his hand, and his nose, was enough for his young wife. >> she said, look, i want your face straight. i don't want to you fight no more. >> reporter: now estefan's only fights are with chicago's tangled traffic and its brutal winters of this is how he supports his family. after years of working for others, he saved up to buy a chicago taxi medallion, now worth nearly $400,000, so that he is his own boss.

for 15 years, he's been behind the wheel every single day. the money that you got from this job sent your kids to college. >> sent them to the college and they are educated and thank god. i told my kids you never know what you are going to be in this country. god bless america. i tell them three years ago, four years ago, who believe is going to be black president? thiin this country. >> reporter: estefan's hard work as earned him a modest home in a quiet suburb of chicago. a home where he raised four children now young adults. they know how lucky they are. >> lucky that we are here in the united states, lucky that we get a chance to get an education. that he didn't get a chance to get. lucky that we have opportunities. more opportunities than he had. >> reporter: and was there something drilled in to you growing up as a girl about what you had that was special being an american-born child. >> you have to be number one.

you have to be on top of everything. you have to prove yourself. >> reporter: like so many immigrant families, they are embraced two cultures, the old world and the new. >> he's always told us to be proud of who we are and never forget that we are we are asyrian. >> reporter: and proud, too, that they are americans. >> just all of the times he said this country is the best. i mean, i came here with nothing and you know, the whole typical i came here with lint in my pockets and i -- now i have a whole company. but his was just always fascinating because it was your father, you know, as a -- >> reporter: did you buy it? >> of course. yeah, as a kid you eat that stuff up. >> reporter: 13 years ago, not long before september 11th, the iraqi boxing champion became an american citizen. >> i told my kids you are born in this country, you are citizen of this country. and when i got the citizen of this country, i told them, i am

now i am the top of the world. i am citizen of this country. >> reporter: now on top of the world, estefan backs an easier path to citizenship for other immigrants, but he has no patience for those newcomers who complain about this country. >> hey, listen, you come here this country is paradise country to the world. you don't like this country, get the hell out of here. >> reporter: in truth, he would much rather talk about boxing than polling ticks. >> mike tyson. the strongest boxer in the world was tyson. but the best boxers in the world mohamed ali. >> reporter: and as for the abrupt turns in his life the ones that led him from the ring to the front seat of this chicago cab, estefan has no regrets. the former champ has been slugging it out in the streets for 15 years now. and passengers who slide in to his cab are certain to hear them say one thing, again and again.

>> god bless america. >> reporter: chris, al jazerra, chicago. and also on immigrant to our country a programming note for our viewers, al jazerra presents an in depositing original documentary series border land, it's about average americans facing the realities of those who are making their way north. ahead we end this hour on a high note testimony the soul and song of a woman who helped to change the face of america. and the little girl who is now keeping her memory alive. >> aljazeera america presents a break through television event borderland... >> are you tellin' me it's ok to just open the border, and let em' all run in? >> the teams live through the hardships that forced mira, omar and claudette into the desert. >> running away is not the answer... >> is a chance at a better life worth leaving loved ones behind? >> did omar get a chance to tell you goodbye before he left? >> which side of the fence are you on?

>> sometimes immigration is the only alternative people have. borderland only on al jazeera america >> the death toll could be much higher than anyone known. >> posing as a buyer... >> ...people ready then... >> mr. president >> who should answer for those people america

♪ america ♪ and finally this hour we end up on a high note with the boys of a legendary marian anderson, as a young girl in the 1930s, the talented singer had no way to pay for her own voice lessons, her church in philadelphia had to collect $500 for hire a teacher to help train her. but as her star was rising anderson became an accidental sim doll bolduc in thsymbol in l rights. ♪ my country tis of thee

>> the mall in washington, d.c., a wash in music, applause and a bright blue sky. the sights, and especially the sounds, honor and echo today exact is a 75 years ago, as tribute was paid. ♪ from every mountain side ♪ ♪ let freedom ring ♪ ♪ >> marian anderson, an american treasure . ♪ >> for years she was celebrated around the world it is a contralto superstar. >> through love the music and here is determination she nurtured her natural gift to his become one of the 20th century's most celebrated singers worldwide. >> but in 1939, anderson's race became an issue at home. it was here in the winter of

1939, at the daughter's of the american revolution's constitution hall in washington, where they had a whites only policy. >> the dar's decision, which clearly they have apologized for many times over was a great illustration of what we do face in terms of a country that's still not fully over our prejudices and our discriminations. >> first lady eleanor roosevelt's reaction to the racism was first to resign her d.a.r. membership. then roosevelt enlisted department of the interior secretary harold to put marian anderson in the spotlight, with a performance on the steps of the lincoln memorial. easter sunday, april 9th, 1939. >> the second left no doubt about his determination to break barriers. >> genius, like justice, is blind.

genius draws no color lines. >> in what may have been the nation's first outdoor concert, anderson sang for 75,000 fans. becoming a symbol of racial reconciliation. >> happy marian anderson day. >> skye rainy turns 10 years old tomorrow, she was chosen by the southeast 10 son learning center to portray marian anderson. >> when they said she couldn't sing at the daughters of the american revolution constitution hall she didn't get mad or angry she just kept ongoing. >> after the lincoln memorial concert her fame grew. she was the first black performer at the metropolitan opera, she sang for john f. kennedy's inauguration in 1961 and she sang again in 1963 at the december knowledge civil rights march on washington for jobs and freedom. and then she sang several times on the constitution hall, these

times invited by the d.a.r. anderson's dress as seen in the old black and white news reel didn't standout. but on the display currently at the smithsonian, her dress sass vibrant as her voice and the message as relevant. >> i think you seize the day in a moment like this, just as my predecessor harold did, and first lady eleanor roosevelt did to make a statement that did, in fact, change the world. >> you see what i sing, i don't want them to see that my face is black, i don't want them to see that my face is white, i want thome see my soul. and that is colorless. ♪ from every mountain side ♪ ♪ let freedom ring ♪ ♪ >> and that's it for us here on "america tonight." please remember for you would like to comments on any of the stories that you have seen with us tonight, just log onto our website

aljazerra.com aljazerra.com/americatonight, you can meet our team there and get sneak previews of stories we are working on now and tell us what result like to see on our current affairs program. and join us the conversation on twitter or our facebook page. good night. we'll have "america tonight" >> this is al jazeera america. i'm jonathan betz. live in new york. soldiers sent to the east in ukraine for clashes turned deadly. tonight who the u.s. is blaming. >> we know who's behind this. indeed the only entity in the area for coordinated actions is russia. >> star fish have existed for 400 million years but now they're dying off and no one knows why. >> also, keeping the conversation going. the