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tv   Inside Man  CNN  November 9, 2013 8:00pm-9:01pm PST

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mmm. delicious orange juice. we all drink it, but do you ever think about where it comes from? these people do. they're undocumented immigrants. they know where it comes from because they pick the oranges that are in it. they also pick the tomatoes in your salad, plow your lawns, clean your hotel rooms, hang your dry wall, even help raise your children. right now, there's an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in this country today. >> it was possible for 11 million illegals to come here. why is it impossible for them to leave? >> people who oppose immigration reform say these workers are just feeding off the system. >> the vast majority of illegal aliens are consuming welfare programs.
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>> we have illegals coming here taking jobs. we have people at home that need these jobs. >> but are businesses really ready to get rid of such cheap, dependable labor? how many jobs are these immigrants taking away jobs from americans? it may be a policy debate in washington, but in the orange groves of polk county, florida, it's a life of fear, back-breaking labor and the looming threat of deportation. >> this is the hardest i've ever worked for 93 cents. ♪ florida. palm trees, retirees, manatees, and one of the largest communities of foreign workers in the country. on any given day, about 400,000 farm workers are tending to crops and fields.
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in fact, florida produces about 63% of all citrus grown in the u.s. and polk county produces more of it than any other county in the state, with about 30 million boxes harvested per year. chances are good if you had an orange today, it came from polk county and a migrant worker picked it. >> the thing for me i don't understand is everyone says we got high unemployment rates but there are all these jobs that no american citizens will apply for. people could pick oranges, strawberries, pick whatever, but they don't. today, hopefully i'll gain some insight into exactly why that is. >> good morning. welcome. how may i help you? >> i wanted to speak to someone about getting a job in agricultural. >> okay. >> polk is a job placement center for polk county residents. they help place workers in all kinds of industries, including the agricultural industry.
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it's the perfect place for me to find a job. people who pick produce like oranges can come here and basically find out what jobs are available within the community. >> morgan spurlock? >> yeah, what i want to find out is how hard is it to get one of these jobs? are there not enough americans to fill these jobs? >> so you're looking at citrus harvesting? >> correct. and why aren't there? why do we have to get visa workers from mexico to do these jobs if there's so many jobs in citrus per calendar years do you have? >> last year, we had about 7,000 different job openings. >> wow. and these jobs are open to americans? >> absolutely. >> how many came in and applied for those? >> actually, about 1,500 came in and applied for those. out of those, 336 were hired. >> how many of those stay? >> technically, 5% overall are the ones that actually stay. >> 5% out of 336. i mean, that's like 15, 16
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people. 16 people for 7,000 jobs. and so then who takes those jobs? >> they usually come from outside the united states then. >> right. i just can't believe only 5%. that's incredible. >> this may be part of the reason why. the worker will carry an 18 to 20-foot ladder to the particular area of the grove to be harvested. fully loaded picking stack weighs between 80 and 100 pounds, depending on the variety of the fruit. >> what is the pay for that? >> we're looking at 95 cents per 90-pound field box. >> per giant sack would be 95 cents. wow. >> all right. so are you still interested? >> yes. >> you are? okay. >> yeah, i am. >> we're going to actually refer you. >> the thing i want to do now is see what this job is really like. go out, work in a field, and just see how difficult and strenuous it is and try to get a better sense of why people aren't taking these jobs.
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of course, some people are taking these jobs. immigrant laborers. there's mainly two ways farm and citrus groves find workers. one way is the h 2 a guest worker program. a stop-gap measure to get workers in the field without granting them permanent residency. it's not a path to citizenship nor popular with the agricultural industry. so that leaves undocumented immigrants. after surviving a dangerous border crossing, they take whatever jobs they can find and generally live life in the shadows to avoid being deported. most see the risk as the only way to make a better life for themselves and their families. >> make a left up here. >> carlos is a 20-year-old undocumented immigrant. born in mexico, carlos was brought to america as a 6-month-old with his migrant farm working family. since he was 9 years old, he was
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working in the fields with his father picking tobacco, onions and oranges. despite living here his entire life, carlos still lives under the constant threat and fear of prosecution and deportation. he and his father have agreed to teach me how to pick oranges before i start my first day of work tomorrow. >> have you ever picked oranges or done any kind of field work? >> i picked things off trees. but you pick one. you pick it, you eat it. i've never had to pick 2,500 to fill a tub. i think i'm going to be sore by the end of the day tomorrow. >> my dad, he's 49. >> wow. >> that's nothing. i know people that are 70 picking oranges, because it's a necessity. you have to. hopefully, if i can better myself, i can help my family. what he did for me, i'll do it for him. >> what do you want to do with your life? >> i really want to go to law school. >> you want to be a lawyer? >> yes. >> that'd be amazing. even with his good attitude and grades, it's going to be tough for carlos to become a lawyer.
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as an undocumented immigrant, carlos is prohibited from practicing law in the united states. where do i pull in? >> this is it. >> he can't even get a job, except as an illegal hire. so he still works in the fields just like his father. well, that is a very heavy ladder. very top heavy ladder. you know what i think is easier for me? i think i want to carry this ladder like this. so where are we going? carlos' father pasqual has been working in american fields for more than 20 years. and to celebrate, last year he had open heart surgery. but he didn't have much time to recuperate. he was back working in the fields six weeks later. as an undocumented immigrant, he can't file for disability payments. so if he doesn't pick, he doesn't get paid. with a family to feed and a hospital bill to pay, not working is not an option. so where should you start when
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you're picking the tree? >> from the ladder. >> you pull them right off? >> just twist it. >> pascual, have you fallen off a ladder? >> no. thank god, no. >> use your leg. >> so that's one sack. so how many more sacks to fill it up? >> ten and a half. >> ten and a half. wow. >> how long do you think it will take you to do one of these barrels? [ speaking in foreign language ] >> one hour. if you don't do it in one hour, do something else. >> then do another job? >> yes. put it right there. >> put it right here? >> yeah. always put it next to a big limb. that it's going to hold your weight. ♪
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>> how do you get the ones that are like up in the top in the middle of the tree there? >> climb in the middle of the tree. >> you've got to climb up the tree? >> yeah. oh, man. there's a bunch in here. i can't believe how much i'm learning. for example, did you know that orange trees have thorns? these thorns are the ones you what you want to stay away from. it took me 15 minutes to fill up this one bag. oh, yeah. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> stop trying to make me feel bad. i should fill this back in five minutes? >> yeah. >> that's a lot of work. [ speaking in foreign language ]
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>> he said you were crazy. [ speaking foreign language ] >> so he said $15, he'd do it. so give me some advice tomorrow since i'm going to be working all day tomorrow. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> you're going to be really tired and not even be able to sit on the toilet. seriously? the last thing you need is some guy giving you a new catalytic converter when all you got is a loose gas cap. what? it is that simple sometimes. thanks. now let's take this puppy over to midas and get you some of the good 'ol midas touch. hey you know what? i'll drive! and i have no feet... i really didn't think this through. trust the midas touch. for brakes, tires, oil, everything.
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i'm on my way to meet the crew i'll be picking with tomorrow. after my lesson with carlos and pasqual, i'm feeling pretty confident. luckily for me, i'm a good foot and a half taller than carlos and pasqual, so i've a bit of a reach. i might be able to get the hard to reach oranges. the workers i'm working with are all 4-2 -- h-25 guest workers. they're all here legally and temporarily. workers have virtually no expenses while they're here. they send most of the money they make straight back to mexico. when the picking season is over, they'll return to their homes, their families and their lives, all in the hopes of getting
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another h-2a visa next season, even though it does not provide a pathway to citizenship. so what's the quickest way of becoming an american citizen? well, short of being born here, it is like most things in life, it comes down to whom you know. if you want all access to the exclusive club usa, your best bet is to be related to someone who's already there legally. like a parent, child, or spouse. they can sponsor you and that at least gets your name on the list. of course, if you don't have family here, there's still some ways to get your foot in the door. like the eb-5 investor visa. this one is pretty easy to get, as long as you have $1 million sitting around to invest in an american startup. great for business but kind of rules out your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free. but if all else fails, you can sponsor yourself. you've got to be special though to get in the club that way.
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in fact, you've got to be positively extraordinary. people with certain skill sets or knowledge, rocket scientists, entrepreneurs can get an alien of extraordinary ability visa. makes sense. we need brilliant people who excel in their fields. it can help push the country forward. the only problem is extraordinary is pretty subjective. meaning those visas have gone to professional bikini models, squash players, magicians, even playboy playmates. none of that helps carlos. since he was brought here illegally, he isn't eligible for any of these visas. seems the u.s. government doesn't think fruit pickers or farm workers are extraordinary, even though a multibillion dollar industry believes them to be invaluable. ♪ >> home, sweet home. >> home, sweet home. >> i start work tomorrow, so tonight, i'm moving in with the pickers and staying in crew housing. how many guys stay in this house? >> ten. so you're eleven. >> i'm morgan. >> this is the dining room or
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dining area. >> right. >> eric is the crew leader and my new boss. just 23 years old. he's an american citizen whose parents were pickers. are you guys in charge of cleaning it too? >> yeah. >> as the foreman with tough quotas to reach, it's his job to make sure he gets the absolute best out of every person in the field, including me. >> pillow, nice. >> standard issue. >> standard issue. that's a good looking brand new bag. see that? >> all american. >> that's all american. red, white, and blue. what's the secret to going faster? >> just move your hands. >> don't even pay attention. like mr. miyagi style? just be the orange. if you spend six months living and working with ten guys, you want to make sure everybody gets along. what can i help with? so all responsibilities for cooking and cleaning are shared. so who did the most tubs today? >> nate did. the guy you're helping. >> yeah? >> he did ten. >> ten. >> uh-huh. >> so that's a good day? >> that's a great day. >> yeah.
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>> so, guys, why did you decide to do the h2-a visas rather than come into the country illegally? [ speaking in foreign language ] how does the money compare here to the money you could make in mexico? like, say, this week, you made $500. how long would it take you to make that in mexico? a month. so you could make a month's wages in one week. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> wow. you have families. you have a wife in mexico? [ speaking in foreign language ] and kids? how many? so you'll be here when the baby is born? is your wife mad? [ speaking in foreign language ] >> yeah? how many tubs do you think i'll be able to do tomorrow? one? come on, just one? really?
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okay. five. okay. we'll see who's right. >> okay. >> are you nervous? >> no. >> you're not nervous? >> should i be? >> i'm just saying. >> i should be nervous, is what you're saying? >> a little bit. >> a little bit? work starts before dawn. while most people are still sleeping, we're heading out to the fields for the day. so it's 5:45 in the morning. i got up almost an hour ago, helped make lunch for all the guys that are going out today and for myself. morning. and we'll be on the field and
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picking by 7:00. most workers are young men with wives and children back home, yet they leave those families for half a year to work in these fields. >> here's your ladder. >> great. which way should i head? just where everybody else is going? >> yeah. just head straight down. and i'll meet you down there. >> okay. carrying my ladder. got to carry it, i don't know, about a quarter mile, half mile to where i'm picking today. this is my line of trees right here. so i'll work down until i meet whoever that is is on the other end somewhere in the middle. it's around $9.50 per tub, so my goal today is to get at least six.
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if i was going to really make a living wage, i'd need to have that first tub filled in an hour. i'm right here, i can do these. pasqual recommended picking from the top of the tree down, but i'm trying my own technique and start from the bottom. i feel from the ground i can get a lot without getting on the ladder. >> you can get two at a time, if you want. the faster you move, the more you pick. >> i'm going to kill it today. >> i've never had a white person on my crew. i've heard stories where americans don't cut it at this job. they expect an easy job, and it's really not that easy. it's heavy work. >> see how that didn't even like cover the bottom of that? at least the oranges we were picking yesterday were about that big. you know? these, look at this. it's like a nectarine. need to get the ladders now.
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i finally understand pasqual's strategy. because the last thing i feel like doing right now is climbing up the damn ladder. i have a feeling that is going to fall. let's see. this ladder. this sucks! is that going to stay? whoa. i think one more bag, i'll be done with my first bin, which isn't bad. >> almost full, morgan? >> how many more bags does that need? >> looks like it needs two more. >> two more? >> i'll help you out with one though. >> something tells me eric doesn't have much faith in me. but if he's going to help me fill the tub, i'll take the pity. how many tubs have the other guys gotten done? >> each guy, roughly two or three. >> in the time it's taken me to do one? >> yeah. you'll be all right. >> eric just wants to rub it in how slow i am.
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is that one? >> yeah. >> nice! two hours for my first tub? >> yeah. >> is that pretty terrible? >> just about. >> all right. see you in a bit, man. so took me two hours to fill one tub. which it's $9.50. so i made $4.75 an hour for my first two hours. now time to get back to work. [ male announcer ] need help keeping your digestive balance in sync? try align. it's the number one ge recommended probiotic that helps maintain digestive balance. ♪ stay in the groove with align. so i deserve a small business credit card with amazing rewards. with the spark cash card from capital one, i get 2% cash back on every purchase, every day.
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so far, i've been picking oranges for three hours. i can honestly tell you it does not get easier as the day goes on. for so-called unskilled labor, it's a lot tougher than it looks. that's two down. lots more to go. i'm not just the worst picker in the field today, i'm also the only american citizen. every single worker with me here today is a foreign visitor on an h-2a vita -- visa. but it's unpopular with most employers. only 4% of the businesses who can use it do so. river front packing is the largest grapefruit distributor in florida, and they don't participate in the program. >> we have an adequate local workforce that we have not been
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forced into or pushed into participating with the h-2a program. >> like many businesses, they find the regulations that comes with h-2a to be expensive and burdensome. >> housing is a cost. the transportation is a cost. and sometimes they don't stay. i think it was a noble effort, but we need to recognize it's a much broader issue. we don't really know the level of illegal immigrants working here. do we have everybody here properly documented and do we meet the letter of the law? absolutely. but as i was told once when i asked this question at a seminar, well, what if i see a document that i'm not sure is legal? the question i got was are you an immigration officer? if you question that, you could be subject to discrimination charges. i think if all of the undocumented workers were all to be deported, the people that think food comes from the grocery store would be in for a rude awakening. >> and in 2011, alabama and
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georgia made an effort to do just that. crack down on all the undocumented immigrants in the workforce. they did it with new laws like making it a crime to transport imgrants who are in the country illegally. as well as mandatory of the e-verify system to check a status against the federal data base. >> i believe now we have the strongest immigration bill in the country. >> undocumented workers were spooked by the newly stringent laws and left for other states that hadn't passed such harsh anti-immigration policies. >> i told many people this is probably the largest economic development job creation bill that the state of alabama has ever passed. >> sure, if by economic development he means states and businesses losing billions of dollars in income and tax revenue. with no undocumented immigrants working, crops literally rotted in the fields. after half a day, i can tell you firsthand why nobody came to replace the immigrant workers.
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the work is excruciating. i've been here since 7:00, and i've still only finished two bins. oh [ bleep ]. look at that! they're falling out of my bag. yes. absolutely. it's lunchtime. [ speaking in foreign language ] what was the quota today you have to hit? >> i have to hit three trailers. and that's, like, eight tubs per person. >> i don't think i'm going to hit eight tubs. >> morgan's pace, compared to everyone else like on a scale of one to ten, he would be a two. which is as many tubs he's filled all day. >> have any of the guys out here
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worked with gringos before? and how long did they last? [ speaking in foreign language ] so i'm already doing as good as that guy. >> he's coming to meet you. >> i better pick up the pace? >> he'll pass you. >> i'm going to get four today at least. at least quatro. another half hour of hard work and i've only gotten halfway through my third bin. but before i can even celebrate -- >> you almost done, morgan? >> -- eric, the foreman, is back pushing me to meet the quota. the third one is half done. how much longer we have left? >> another hour and a half. >> okay. so tired, i'm missing my own bag. i don't feel it in my legs, but
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right in my lower back and my forearms from this repetitive motion of like this. so one of the workers asked me, what do you think it would take for an american to come out here and do this job? i think it would take like $30 an hour. guaranteed. like, not even based on the buckets that they get. and then when you go to the grocery store, your orange juice would cost $12. because after being here, i tell you what, i don't think most of you would do this job. that's the fact. it sounds like it's time to go. so i wouldn't get paid for this one today, because it's not full. oh, man! so now if you look what i made today, i only finished three
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bins. $28.50. $2.85 an hour over ten hours. >> well, morgan, time to go. >> that's like 3 2/3. >> yeah? >> yeah. >> so was it easy? >> absolutely not. it was even harder than i thought it would be. >> you exceeded my expectations. i figured you would have quit. >> thanks for having so much faith. >> you pulled through. you pulled through. >> let's go home. >> let's go. >> i couldn't even imagine, like, having to do this every day, six days a week, for your whole life. very hard. >> how many? >> 3 2/3. >> not too bad. >> not too bad. >> for your first day. >> but not too good.
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yeah, not too good. after an incredibly long day picking oranges, i can't wait to go to bed. but it's friday and that's payday! so the bus makes a last stop at plaza mexico. plaza mexico is a one-stop shop for h-2a workers. it's a shopping center, restaurant, and bank all rolled into one. man, this place is busy. how many guys come in here and cash their checks? >> at least 600 or more. >> wow. >> about 200 are from our company. >> okay. they wire money home as well? >> yeah. over there. see? >> how much do most guys send home? >> you'd have to leave like $50 for groceries and $20 for, like, laundry. >> guys are usually only keeping back 60, 70 bucks? >> yeah. >> it's like a casino in here.
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so much money changing hands. when we do head back to the camp, i discover a little keepsake from my day. i hit my leg on the bus and was like, why did that hurt so much? i pulled up my pants, i had a thorn stuck in the side of my leg. see if we can't take that out now. ow. ow. look at that. >> a little souvenir i can keep forever to remind me of my long day of back-breaking labor. i feel like what i got to experience, you know, what most people will never get to. and i think it's eye opening because it does give you tremendous more respect for these guys and what they do. i'll be thinking about them every time i have a glass of orange juice for the rest of my life. >> i'm going to miss you. >> thank you very everything. >> you're welcome. [ male announcer ] this store knows how to handle a saturday crowd.
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by most people's standards, picking oranges is low pay for hard work. but for the h-2a workers, it's a decent paying job. and while it isn't luxurious, it's you safe and legal. with h-2a workers making up less
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than 5% of the work force, the other 95% have to live somewhere. carlos and pascual, the men who taught me how to pick oranges, have invited me home to meet the rest of the family. how are you? >> this is my mother. >> a lot of people think undocumented immigrants are somehow abusing our social system. but in reality, they're not even in the system. >> this is my home. >> they are ineligible for benefits, even if many of them live well below the poverty line. >> this is our kitchen. sometimes when it rains, it leaks. but we still keep warm during the winter when it does rain. >> hi, how are you? >> and this is my room. like i said, it's not the best of room, but here's where i've been able to get straight a's in this desk. i'm thankful for that. >> what do you think over the course of the year, the total salary for both of you to support your family for a year? [ speaking in foreign language ]
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>> together, like with her working in the egg factory or the egg farm, and him working in the migrant worker, it's like $25,000. >> and that's to support a family of one, two, three, four, five and plus your sister. so to support a family of six. >> yeah. you see where we're at. >> do you guys pay taxes? >> you still got to pay taxes. >> does your employer take it out or do you pay it? [ speaking foreign language ] they take them out of the check. >> yeah. >> so you pay taxes to the state of florida. so what do you get in return for paying those taxes? [ speaking foreign language ]
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>> do you still believe in the american dream? [ speaking in foreign language ] >> we can become something else other than just being a farmer. we can be lawyers. we can be doctors. we can accomplish anything we set our mind to. >> would you be happy if he became a lawyer? [ speaking in foreign language ] >> pasqual's family wants to live the american dream and they're willing to work hard to achieve their goals, no matter the obstacles. and believe me, there's a whole lot of obstacles. if you're an undocumented immigrant, you can't get a social security card. and without one of those, you can't get medicare, welfare, social security, or unemployment benefits. you can't apply for most jobs
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and you can't get most credit cards. you can't even get a fishing license. you're ineligible for financial aid for college, federal funded health insurance. or an employment based health plan. what you are eligible for is the draft. you also get to pay taxes. the one thing that's easy for an undocumented worker to get is a bill from the irs. in fact, in most states, you can't even get a driver's license, which means every time you get behind the wheel, you risk losing everything. you've never been pulled over before? >> thankfully, no. >> if carlos or any of his family are pulled over, they could be jailed for 48 hours until an immigration officer comes to interrogate them. they could be subject to any number of punishments from getting a ticket to being deported and banned from returning to the u.s. for an entire decade. pasqual, do you worry when he drives the car? [ speaking in foreign language ] >> right. because he could get pulled over
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one time and that could be it? >> yeah. >> for carlos' family, immigration reform isn't a political issue. it's the difference between a life lived with hope or a life lived in fear. my asthma's under control. i don't miss out... you sat out most of our game yesterday! asthma doesn't affect my job... you were out sick last week. my asthma doesn't bother my family... you coughed all through our date night! i hardly use my rescue inhaler at all. what did you say? how about - every day? coping with asthma isn't controlling it. test your level of control at asthma.com, then talk to your doctor. there may be more you could do for your asthma.
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i'm in clermont, florida, this morning, with carlos to take part in a march organized by an immigration rights group. >> we're out here to make sure obama keeps his promises. >> when obama campaigned for the presidency in 2008, he promised an overhaul of immigration in the united states. and he did just that. president obama deported nearly as many undocumented immigrants, 1.5 million in his first term, than george w. bush did in both his terms combined. >> what we're trying to do is not just raise awareness about the broken immigration system, but to say stop with the deportations until you fix the problem. >> right. now that obama's been re-elected, he's making another promise. that a comprehensive immigration reform will be in place by the end of the first year of his
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second term, but not everyone believes that will happen. what's holding up these things getting pushed through? >> they just don't want this crowd, you know, in the ascendancy mix. >> why is that? >> my personal opinion is in part because they're brown. >> no brown people in power? >> the demographic is changing. if this crowd gets legalized, it's a young community with children. they're voters. >> so just how important is the latino vote? as the fastest growing minority group in the u.s., latinos make up 16% of the population. if you want to be president of the united states, you need their support. and savvy politicians are already going after it. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> welcome to the white house. [ speaking in foreign language ] [ speaking foreign language ] >> in 2008, 67% of the latino vote went to barack obama.
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and in 2012, they voted to re-elect him with 71% of their vote. a vote they expect to lead to change. >> hey, obama, don't deport my mamma! hey, obama, don't deport my mamma! >> but reform is too big of an issue for just one party. so the marchers have made their way to orlando, florida where they have made their way to outside of the office of senator marco rubio. >> we ask him to stand up and champion our cause. >> they're giving a couple speeches. a lot of the local media have shown up. the plan is for them to all march inside and get senator rubio to make a statement. the son of cuban immigrants, rubio has the youth, energy and background story that connects with many latinos. >> my grandfather was born to a farming family in rural cuba. >> and a party that is out of touch, with 16% of the population, rubio is the gop's
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best shot at reaching this crucial vote. >> his parents were cuban exiles. they did everything they could to guarantee him a better tomorrow. >> right. >> so we're trying to say, you know, champion the cause. whether he's here or not, nobody ever says anything, it's like we'll get back to you. you're an elected official, you should be available to the people. >> marco rubio, 350. >> we can only have one group in the elevator at a time. >> many of these marchers are undocumented and they're taking a huge risk just coming here today. >> yes, we'd like to speak to mr. rubio. >> because an arrest could lead to being held and deported. >> excuse us. >> y'all just step back a second. i was told there are six of you out here. our room is not big enough to accommodate everybody. so if i could get five or ten of you that we could meet with, that'd be great. okay?
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the senator's in washington today. >> in senator rubio's absence, a few of us have been elected to have an audience with todd reed. he's the state director. >> we need the republicans to step forward. and we need them to help us. >> i grew up here in florida most of my life. we migrated. i work with the youth. i've learned we are stuck in a position where we have to take opportunities that are there. >> i don't know if any of y'all have had a chance to hear the senator talk about this issue. this is a very personal issue for him. and i think this year, he's going to be taking a bigger approach, so i appreciate you guys coming. >> thank you very much for your time. >> thank you all very much as well. appreciate it. thank you for being here. >> it was kind of like a little exciting democracy in action moment today. >> i'm going to get ahold of the senator on this. but i would anticipate in the next few weeks you would hear him speak very clearly on where he is on this issue. >> maybe this is just a first step for them. we'll see what happens in the next few weeks.
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as planned, the promise group marched on to washington where they got their meeting with senator rubio. but they had to wait a few more weeks to finally get a taste of what they all came to washington for. >> we're here to announce a set of bipartisan principles for comprehensive immigration reform legislation. >> the gang of eight are a group of senators, including senator
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rubio, who have joined together across party lines to agree that immigration reform needs to happen and it needs to happen now. maybe not for the best reasons. >> the republican party is losing the support of our hispanic citizens. >> for the first time ever, there's more political risk in opposing immigration reform than in supporting it. >> but if reform is the result, that's all that matters to people like carlos. it's a pretty campus. >> yeah, it is. >> all of pasqual's sacrifices have paid off. because with the help of private donations, carlos has been able to enroll in a local college where he can work toward earning a law degree. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> i had to come to see you, mr. murphy. this is my father right here. >> nice to meet you. >> i'm showing him around the campus. >> nice to meet you. >> can i introduce you to my dad? >> nice to meet you. you should be very proud of carlos. he's definitely one of our prized students. >> a kid as dedicated as carlos deserves the chance to
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contribute to society. and if immigration reform becomes a reality, the possibilities are endless. right there. on that hill. how long ago was that? [ speaking in foreign language ] >> never imagined i'd end up coming here to go to school. >> when you're here at school, you always have a reminder of the sacrifice that your dad made? >> yes. especially if one day i become a lawyer, i can't forget where i came from. >> yeah. congress is currently debating the plan to create legal pathways for undocumented immigrants. and a new guest worker program which would better meet our labor needs. but it could still be a long road if and when these ideas are passed into law. for carlos, pasqual, and others who risk their lives to work for
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the american economy and the american dream, time is of the essence. >> one way to reach out to the community because there's drugs and violence. people love soccer. >> these immigrants are part of the fabric of our daily lives. thank you. thanks for your time. thank you very much. and it's time they're allowed to live openly and work toward making a legitimate life for themselves and for their children. i think that carlos will work every day and night to become a lawyer just so he could hear his father say, "look at this. look at my son. the son of a fruit picker became a lawyer." that's powerful. from the company that i worked for in florida picking oranges, there's my check. $86.73 big ones. in actuality, i only should have gotten paid for three tubs.
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but since they can't pay you below minimum wage, i got the minimum wage adjustment which is $65.47. this is probably one of the hardest jobs i've ever done in my life. my life. yeah. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com ♪ >> they don't look friendly. who are they any way? ugly dutch guys look like with guns. wasn't particularly friendly to the current power. they look like they're coming from or on their way to oppress a black man. first order of

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