Luís Argueta, director of the award-winning film “The Silence of Neto,” (Official Selection, Sundance Film Festival; Best Movie, New York Latino Film Festival), along with co-producer Vivian Rivas, are now in the post-production phase of their new full-length documentary “abUSed - The Postville Raid,” about the arrest of nearly 400 immigrant workers in a single event. [see Part 1 here] Here he discusses his film with me for Inside from the Inside.
How is your name pronounced?
Luís (not “louis”) Argit-a (clear, hard “a”)
Your last film told a narrative fiction story. This one is about true events. That’s quite a departure. Why?
No. My last film was a historical documentary “Through Faith We Grow: the history of the Hispanic Ministry in the Archdiocese of New York.” My last fiction film “Collect Call” was a bitter farce about an immigrant.
How did you learn about the events in Postville?
On July 11, 2008, I read an article by Julia Preston in The New York Times, “An Interpreter Speaking Up for Migrants.”
The article referred to an essay written by federal court interpreter and university professor, Dr. Erik Camayd-Frexias, about what he had witnessed in the proceedings in Waterloo, Iowa after the May 12th immigration raid in Postville. That essay changed my life. (I had heard about the raid the day after it happened, but like so many of us, I got caught up in my own life and didn’t focus on it again until I read Ms. Preston’s article.)
From Dr. Camayd-Frexias’ essay, I learned that ICE agents [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] had herded these workers onto secured buses and took them to the National Cattle Congress in Waterloo, Iowa which had been outfitted by the government as a human detention and processing center. There, without any presumption of innocence, the workers had been “fast-tracked” through a series of highly questionable legal procedures which left them humiliated, convicted and torn away from their families.
My first reaction was that every Guatemalan should read this document. Eight months later, 10 trips to Postville, three to Guatemala, and one to Washington, DC, I am convinced more than ever that this essay is essential reading and that the story of Postville is relevant, not just to Guatemalans, but to every citizen of the world.
In late July, I took my first trip to Postville to visit the site of the raid and experience the aftermath firsthand. Along with Vivian Rivas, my co-producer on the documentary, we conducted a few interviews with the townspeople and documented the victim’s testimonies given before three US Congressmen from the Hispanic Caucus on July 26, 2008. We also filmed the march and rally that took place the following day that was planned by a broad coalition of Jewish, Catholic, and lay organizations in solidarity with the victims of the raid. My intention was to use this footage in a short piece for distribution either on the Internet or as a podcast.
During that initial trip, Vivian and I met with the people directly affected by the raid:
- the women with ankle bracelets who for two hours a day had to plug themselves into an electrical outlet
- the mother who desperately searched for her underage son who had been arrested during the raid
- the business owner who was forced to close his doors because so many of his clients were either in prison or had left town
- the local religious leaders who were left with the responsibility to care for once proud workers who now had to relay on the church for all of their needs
I witnessed how the raid had torn through the fragile fabric of the once-diverse community that was Postville, destroying the town, community groups, and local businesses. I realized, that instead of a short Internet commentary, the story demanded a more in-depth exploration. As we drove to the airport, I told Vivian that I couldn’t go back to New York with her, and stayed in Iowa for another week. By the time I touched down in New York, I had decided to produce a feature-length documentary that would present the human face of the immigration issue and explore the constitutional questions involved in it.
Can you tell us a bit about the challenges potential immigrants from Mexico and Guatemala would have entering the United States to work on a legal basis?
Potential immigrants from Mexico and Guatemala who own property, who have credit cards, who have jobs, who have bank accounts, and who are white, have zero challenges entering the US. All they have to do is fill out an application for a visa at a US embassy and they will be granted one.
If, on the other hand, your skin is brown, if you have no property, credit cards, a job, or bank accounts, you can simply forget it. People say “let them get in line, go to the back of the line.” The reality is that for these potential immigrants there is no line.
And remember, people do not come to the US undocumented, risking their lives, leaving all that is precious and loved to them, simply because they want to. They do it because they have no other choice. They come here because there are no jobs at home, or the ones some can get pay salaries of misery.
For example, a woman I interviewed in Postville told how she used to make $67 a month for a job that included taking care of two kids, cleaning house, doing laundry and cooking for the kids and the parents. That money was not sufficient to support herself, her son and her mother. She borrowed $5,000 at 10% -A MONTH- and left for Iowa. After a grueling trip she arrived in Postville and obtained work at Agriprocessors, Inc, the largest kosher slaughterhouse in the US. During her first week, earning $6.25 an hour, she was able to work only two and a half days. After deductions she took home over twice what she was making back home in a month.
What are your hopes for this project? For the people the film is about?
The purpose of this project is to put a human face to the crucial issue of immigration and to serve as a cautionary tale about the abuses of constitutional and human rights.
The film is also intended to serve as a platform for the people whose voices are never heard.
You are in post-production on this film. Will it be feature length? What are the challenges to bringing it to completion? What percent of it is done? How much will it cost?
This will be a feature-length documentary for festivals-and possibly theatrical distribution— and a one-hour film for TV. The biggest challenge to bringing it to completion is to find the funds necessary to finish it. 90% of the filming is complete and 50% of the editing. Out of a budget of $357,000 we still need to raise $147,000.
How can we participate in this project?
Donate. Donate. Donate. Go to our website and donate.
If you would like to make a secure, tax- deductible contribution toward the completion of “abUSed - The Postville Raid” documentary, please visit the website of our fiscal partner, the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization.
In order for your contribution to be used toward the completion of this documentary, please make sure that you complete the information in the “additional options” section of the online form by designating your donation toward the fund for abUSed: The Postville Raid documentary and by putting the following email address in the section “Notify someone by email”: luisarguetaa@gmail.com. Proceeds will be used to complete the post-production phase of the film.
You can view the trailer for this film here:
Click to view film trailer.
