[ latin music plays ] >> buenos d^as y bienvenidos. good morning, and welcome once again to "tiempo." i'm joe torres. notorious mexican drug kingpin joaqu^n "el chapo" guzm*n is back in prison after his elaborate escape last summer. federal prosecutors want guzm*n to be tried here, in the united states. we will talk to a documentary filmmaker who has closely followed el chapo for years. that's later here on "tiempo." right now, though, the department of homeland security recently began a crackdown on undocumented immigrants from central america. the federal operation has generated widespread concern in many immigrant communities. in fact, protesters from various pro-immigrant groups recently

here to publicly air their frustration and their anger. they were even willing to be arrested. they are pleading with president obama to immediately halt the controversial operations. joining us this morning -- esta maana -- favio ramirez-caminatti from the el centro del inmigrante on staten island, immigration attorney and our good friend barbara camacho, and lenni benson from the safe passage project. welcome to you all. i quickly want to get to it because el centro -- the mission of your organization is -- let's lay that foundation first. you guys on staten island have been around for quite some time, right? >> yes, el centro was founded in 1997, and we are working with immigrants and their families, providing all they need. >> mm-hmm. in this regard, with the recent crackdown, you're launching some initiatives about "know your rights." tell me about that. >> yes, that's correct. "know your rights," or "conozca sus derechos" -- it's a series of workshops that el centro is organizing and it's providing.

>> we are doing at least 15 workshops per week. >> mm-hmm. and have you seen an increase -- and, barbara and lenni, i'll get to you in a second -- an increase in the number of people looking to know their rights in light of what's been happening with the federal government? >> yes, that's correct. we have a very, very huge population of latinos in staten island, and, after january 1st, they are very, very interested about know their own rights, and that's what we are working on. >> yes. barbara, have you seen that same spike in the number of door-knocks and the phone calls that are coming to the office? >> oh, we definitely get -- we've seen an uptick in phone calls. people are concerned. they've heard friends across the united states have had interactions, so it's a concern. >> and how critical are organizations like lenni's, like his, in terms of getting the message out about knowing what you can do, what you can't do, what you should say, what you shouldn't say, when it comes to someone, i.c.e., knocking on your door? >> pivotal. pivotal. it's the difference -- >> i would say we don't get so many phone calls as we get text messages because we mostly help young people. we help children.

court from central america. they correspond with us by text, and the text is coming in, "i'm worried, maybe not for me -- i'm worried for my dad. i'm worried for my grandma." and so we're finding that this kind of raid is creating a real fear in families. people are afraid to bring children to school, people are afraid to go shopping, and we're here, i think, today to talk about being prepared and be calm. >> yeah. your organization, its mission, lenni, would be... >> so, safe passage project was created by me, a law professor, to bring pro bono lawyers -- that means for free -- law students, volunteers, social workers. we go to the immigration court. we meet people there. we then interview the children, find out the ways they have the right to stay in the country. then we recruit wonderful lawyers like barbara's firm and others to do the work for free. >> a question for the three of you -- and, lenni, we'll start with you and work down the line. what do you find is the best method, best approach, to present this information -- which can be quite a bit to people who've just arrived here from a foreign country -- in terms of them walking out with a working knowledge of what they

>> well, first, i want to say that even u.s.-born people don't always know all their rights, so we're all learning all the time, and we live in a wonderful country that has a great constitution. and it says people have rights, not just citizens. so sometimes the best way to find out is to reach out to a community-based organization or your local church, if you're involved, or find, at your schools -- could be community many of us are doing "know your rights" presentations. and then there's the web. resources. on our page, you'll be able to find some materials. >> but, barbara, are you also battling what constantly must be the hurdle of trust? you know, people are coming from a country where there's anarchy, where there's violence, where there's persecution in their home country. then they come to a foreign country, and suddenly you're telling them, "put your faith in me. put your trust in me." how difficult is that? >> it's difficult, but it's also something that we tackle and deal with on a regular basis. i would add to what professor benson just said, that another great source of

these raids have been targeted against people who have already entered the immigration court, so these people presumably have had some attorney or were in the process of finding an attorney. i think, when you can't get information from your local community organizations, contact an attorney. >> also, everyone's case is not the same, and i worry sometimes that the generic information, even though we try really hard to make it useful in "know your rights," it could maybe not fit your case. so if you have been in immigration court -- anyone -- adult, child, anyone ever been in court -- and you didn't have a lawyer or you did have a lawyer, it's time to reconnect with that lawyer or find a new one. be prepared, and, i'm sorry to say, the best way to be prepared is you need to talk to an attorney. >> favio, i want to get back to you. i mean, do you constantly find yourself trying to break those barriers of trust from people who are coming and countries where trust doesn't exist? >> yes, that's correct. we see people every day in el centro, and we receive a lot

every day -- every day -- especially after january 1st. so we are trying to work to inform this population and this new population that is rising in new york, but especially in staten island, what their rights are. >> okay. sit tight. we're gonna go to a break. when we come back, we'll quickly run through some of the pointers that you often tell people to keep in mind, and we'll also talk a little bit about this crackdown and why the federal government says it's doing it. so when we come back on "tiempo" -- more on the department of homeland security immigration raids, is what they've been. still ahead on "tiempo" -- the infamous drug king joaqu^n "el chapo" guzm*n back in police custody after his escape from a mexican prison last summer. we'll talk to an expert who's been following el chapo closely for years. he's also the maker of a

>> welcome back to "tiempo." the department of homeland security recently began a crackdown on undocumented immigrants from central america. the dhs operation has generated fear and concern for so many in

we've been discussing this with favio ramirez-caminatti from el centro del inmigrante on staten island, barbara camacho, an attorney, an immigration attorney, and lenni benson from the safe passage project. lenni, i want to start with you because we've talked about it enough. i'd like to give viewers something to chew on, something that they can walk out the door with, saying, "oh, i learned it on 'tiempo' in case someone comes knocking on my door." give me two or three bullet points to keep in mind. >> okay, if you are at home, you do not need to open the door. >> ah. >> people -- you feel like you're rude, you're not opening the door. be safe. be prepared. do not open the door. if the officer insists, knocking loudly, saying, "i have a warrant for...lenni benson's arrest," then you say, "slide it under the door or hold it up to the window. i want to see it." and actually, it would be a good idea if you took a picture of that warrant with your phone and, if you have a lawyer, send that picture to your lawyer because the pieces of paper they use are generally not warrants. >> huh. >> they will say, and they've said in the press, "i don't need a warrant." yes, they do. you cannot enter someone's home

and their little pieces of immigration paper, they're important -- they're not warrants. >> barbara, from the white house's perspective, the raids are aimed at people with criminal convictions and people caught crossing the u.s./mexico border illegally. i think there's a fair number of people -- all you got to do is look at the political election and the political climate that we're in. there's a fair number of people across the country who would say, "you know what? that's a perfectly legitimate focus." how do you respond to that? >> i would respond that this seems like a very strong-handed way of attacking probably one of the most vulnerable populations. it's inadequate. if the goal here is to repatriate these individuals who've had their day in court, well, let's first make sure that they've actually had their day in court. it's clear from the statistics that as many as 22 people who were detained in these raids have not in fact had their final day in court. so doing this heavy-handed due process. it's inadequate, and it's not consistent with our values. >> i think lenni would agree with this. so many of the people who are

el salvador, honduras, many would argue are more refugees than immigrants, that they're fleeing violence, they're fleeing persecution. >> this last week, the government released statistics that el salvador is now the number-one country in the world for murder rates, and they had an increase of 71% in one year of murder. i don't understand how the federal government can ignore the reality of the violence in el salvador, guatemala, and honduras -- and mexico, as well -- and not contextualize their enforcement efforts. there's a time to be tough. this is not the time for central americans. >> favio, you've seen a visible example of the fear amongst people by what's not been happening at centro, correct? what is no longer occurring there? >> yes, well, we have less workers in our job community center. we can see that every day. >> day laborers. >> yes, day laborers and housekeeping, also -- housekeepers. also, we have less people attending to our esl classes and ged classes. >> mm-hmm.

telling you, as to the reason why they're not coming? >> that they are really afraid because of i.c.e. so we are working in this point of the workshop, "know your rights," saying what lenni said, right, that keep silent, to remain silent, don't open the door, ask for a warrant. >> what's the broader impact on the community when day laborers and housekeepers don't show up at centro to go to jobs that they normally would go to? >> well, the first point is that it's very, very -- this impact really in a bad form in the community and in the economy of the island and in the new york in general because one out of four people in staten island is immigrant. so -- >> one out of four. >> yes, you have all these people, 100,000 persons that are not coming to work or to shopping or they're not going to church because they are afraid. this is a very, very big impact. it's a big deal for -- >> it's a ripple effect

>> there's also an emotional effect, though. 60% of all the families in all of new york have an immigrant living in their family, so either they have good papers or the process. this creates a culture of fear and distrust, and we're worried that people won't seek help for domestic violence or go to the hospital or go to school, and we want to assure them it is against the law for a new york city police officer to turn you over to i.c.e. >> barbara, the white house argues that the administration is following the rules and policies of due process, allowing immigrants to make asylum claims and to exhaust their legal options. is that not what you've seen? >> that's not what's being reported in the press, and you'd be surprised the sources that we're getting it from. i mean, these are not liberal newspapers. it's also conservative papers reporting that many of these families have already received temporary reprieves or stays. so it's clear that errors are being made in the implementation, and that's what happens when you try to round up people. >> well, thank you all. i hope the viewers at home have learned something. don't open the door, right?

>> go to our website and read the help bar. >> yep, safepassage.org is a great website for some information. and thank you and the good work you guys are doing at centro out there. we move on. coming up next on "tiempo" -- the infamous joaqu^n "el chapo" guzm*n now back in police custody -- thank goodness -- after he escaped from a mexican prison. we'll talk to an expert documentary filmmaker who has some very interesting insights on this man when we come back. meet the moore's! we're the moore family, and we're always looking for ways to enjoy more. so we called time warner cable and got even more than we expected. call now to get more. more speed. like, 300 meg. more tv shows and movies on demand. more places to make more unlimited calls.

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>> joaqu^n "el chapo" guzm*n, perhaps the world's most

in the custody of mexican law enforcement after he escaped from a jail cell last summer. authorities are pushing to have him extradited to the united states, where he could be prosecuted for the multiple murder charges against him. in fact, representatives from u.s. attorney's office for the eastern district of new york say they have a joint case that includes participation from the narcotics and dangerous drugs section in washington, d.c. and the office of the united states attorneys in the southern district of florida to get el chapo extradited here. joining us this morning -- charlie minn, producer of a documentary on el chapo. charlie, thank you for being with us this morning. i'm guessing your hope is that he's extradited here, as well. >> yes, he's wanted in seven u.s. districts, and the last report that i was able to come up with is that it's gonna take about a year to get him here. i'm afraid he's gonna escape during that one year in mexico. >> really? >> he's back at the same exact prison that he escaped from, the altiplano. >> yep.

knows the guards, he knows the people. he's got a billion dollars. it could happen again, joe. >> so don't be surprised, yes, right? >> absolutely. >> is that part of the reason why you think u.s. authorities want him in u.s. custody? because if he's here, he's not gonna escape. >> absolutely. i mean, he has to come to the united states. it'd be game over, unless we have that same situation happen that we had in upstate new york, with those two cowards who escaped in upstate new york. but if he's here in the united states, i'm gonna say you'll never hear from chapo guzm*n again. >> charlie, when were you first turned on to el chapo, and what was it that draw your attention to him? >> 2010 -- my first film about the mexico violence - as we see, that ju*rez, which borders el paso. i made a movie called "8 murders a day," so i've been studying chapo for 5 years -- i would say really seriously the last 2 years. >> mm-hmm. " es el chapo?" is one of your documentaries. happened. >> it was released a year ago, when he was arrested, when he was brought in at mazatl*n, which is a beach resort in the

state of sinaloa, where he's from. so i made that movie, released it independently at a few theaters, so i'm still looking for a buyer right now, a company. it certainly would be great timing. >> well, we'll point someone in the right direction just in case they want to see your good work. but as part of the film, you literally went to his house? >> i did. it was surreal. we were escorted up there to la tuna, which is a small village in the sinaloa mountains. and it was almost impossible to get there, joe. then i said to myself, "no wonder he's hiding up here," 'cause you could barely get up to his house. >> because of the terrain or because of the protection? >> yeah, it was hills and valleys and rocks, and, if you're not concentrating, you cliff. >> okay. >> and we were being watched. we had to be escorted up there. but it was absolutely dreamlike going up there. you wouldn't think a billionaire lived in his house, 'cause it didn't seem that lavish to me. >> wasn't extravagant. it wasn't... >> i mean, you could tell some money was put into it, but a billionaire in forbes magazine? no. >> mm-hmm. were you fearful? i mean, you had to be fearful as you're going there, thinking that here's a man who's

thousands of deaths. and you can give me an accurate figure. >> yeah, he's responsible, his cartel is, for 80,000 dead mexicans -- a lot of them innocent. i wasn't scared, though, joe, believe it or not. i've made seven films inside the mexican war zone. my films represent innocent people who have been murdered. this is the saddest story in the world that no one's talking about, is the mexico violence. we're talking about 135,000 dead mexicans since 2008. >> mm. >> i mean, that's more than syria, iraq, and afghanistan. why is no one talking about the violence in mexico when we're the consumers that's causing a lot of it? not all of it, but a lot of it. >> answer your own question. why don't you think it gets the attention that you think it deserves? >> there's such a serious disconnect. i wish more news directors in the country would say, "hey, i should know about this." the mexicans die as we get high, and that's no lie. i don't know if it's fear. i don't know if it's a lack of... just a lack of knowledge. i couldn't tell you, joe. it has to be covered more. >> yeah. share with me something that you think most people don't know about el chapo. >> i would say more than half of

the 80,000 dead mexicans, because he provides for the poor. he's built hospitals and churches and schools and roads, and a lot of innocent mexican people -- a lot of the mexican people, i should say, revere this man because he has provided jobs and employment and money. so he provides for the poor, and the mexican people look at chapo as the government that should've been because the mexican government has failed their people by not giving them any employment or opportunities. it's well-known that the mexican government is corrupt. >> yeah. >> i hate to say it, but i do presentations all along the border, and soon as i show pea nieto's face, the president -- i say, "do you trust this guy?" and right away, people go, "no, no, no." i mean, it's a knee-jerk reaction, the corruption in mexico. >> but if you showed the picture of el chapo, the reaction would be... >> more people would like him. >> yeah. >> despite the 80,000 murders. it's an unbelievable story. >> it's totally backwards, right, the approach that so many people have. >> mind-boggling. beyond comprehension. >> whereas, if you look at the vantage point of americans of el chapo, they see him as what

drug lord. >> yeah, but there's such a fascination with chapo guzm*n, like any mafioso. john gotti was the same way. so, like, mafia leaders are looked up to in many -- i mean, pablo escobar provided for the poor. >> yeah, took care of the people around him. sit tight -- so many more questions for you, charlie. when we come back -- more on el chapo's arrest and the documentary produced by charlie minn and directed by charlie.

>> welcome back to "tiempo." joaqu^n "el chapo" guzm*n back in the custody of mexican law

from prison there. here with us this morning -- charlie minn, producer of the documentary film " es el chapo?" charlie, are you -- almost can't talk about this story without talking about sean penn, who got an interview with el chapo. are you as perplexed, amazed, baffled -- whatever adjective you want to use -- that mexican law enforcement couldn't find el chapo, but sean penn could? >> yeah, i think the next time mexican authorities need to find someone, they'll just confer with sean penn. they'll give him a call and say, "sean, do you know where he is? have you talked to kate del castillo?" this is a joke, joe, it really is. i mean, sean penn is poking his nose at law enforcement and the police and mexican marines that somehow he got to chapo months before they were able to. >> can an argument be made that, because of sean penn's "involvement," perhaps the story has gotten a little bit more attention than perhaps it would've had he not been involved? >> absolutely, joe. it blew up. had mexican marines got chapo in mexico and there was no involvement with a big-time actor in the united states, then

reported in the united states. but now that sean penn's involved, it's now a usa story. >> yes. >> and, i mean, chapo is wanted in seven u.s. districts -- in brooklyn, too. so this man has to come here, or he'll escape again, in my opinion. >> did you face "political pressure," when you were doing your movies, to have this sort of an angle or this sort of approach? and if so, how did you avoid it? because i think your films take much more of a humanitarian outlook. >> it does. no, i got no pressures from felipe calder_n or enrique pea nieto. i was able to do my own films independently. my films represent, as i said earlier, innocent people who've been murdered. i really wish the focus would be more on the victims -- for any crime, for that matter. i mean, here in the united states, can we name one victim from the san bernardino incident? but we know who the killers are. i think, if the media kept the killer's name out of the media, we would see less murders in our country. the only way a killer's name should be mentioned -- if he's on the run. but i really wish they would stop giving these animals their 10 minutes of fame, because that's what they want. so, again, keep their names out

less murders in our country. and focus in on the victims. >> on the victims, which you do. which you do in your films, in your docu--- >> it's very important that i -- i'm here to give them a voice. they cannot talk anymore. and i don't know how families can bury their kids. i really don't. >> " es el chapo?" has a question mark at the end of it in the title. why so? >> because when he was arrested in mazatl*n in february of 2014, they took polls -- the l.a. times, people in mexico -- and about half thought that it was not him because not a single shot was fired during his capture at mazatl*n. where were his 200 bodyguards that surround him at all times? and why is he staying at an 89-dollar-a-night condominium? this arrest, again, which happened a week ago -- again, chapo wasn't shot at. there was no violence. so i'm a little suspicious. >> yeah. >> everything about this man, to me, creates suspicion. >> there's always a cloud of mystery, isn't there? >> well, unfortunately, it's mexico. if you understand the mexican culture, there's always a cloud of corruption surrounding political stories, crime stories.

>> did i hear you say once that 95% of murders in mexico are never prosecuted? >> yeah, they're not looked at. >> they're not looked at. >> yeah, 95% of the murders in mexico are not looked at. >> wow. we've teased people enough. eselchapo.com is the website. people can go there, see a clip, learn more about where -- >> yeah, right there, and if a company's watching -- i think the audiences, they want to see this type of story because it's such a hot story. or charlieminn.com -- either website. >> the time is right, right now. a pleasure, charlie. thanks so very much. >> you're welcome. >> sit tight. before we go, let's take a quick look at the "tiempo" community calendar for this week. this friday, coming up in manhattan, repertorio espaol presents "love in the time of cholera," based on the nobel prize-winning author gabriel garc^a m*rquez. the theater is located at 138 east 27th street in manhattan. and that show starts at 8:00 p.m. also, looking for books written by latino authors? who isn't? the best place to go -- one of our favorites -- la casa azul in east harlem.

literary works by hispanic authors -- illustrators, as well. la casa azul -- located at 143 east 103rd street. more information -- you can call the number listed there, 212-426-2626. much^simas gracias. we hope you learned something today, and we thank you for spending at least part of your sunday with us here on "tiempo." if you missed any part of our show, you can watch it at abc7ny on the web, on your tablet, or even on your smartphone. that wraps up another edition of "tiempo." i'm joe torres. thanks for watching.