Narrator: Tonight on 30 days: a patriotic minuteman vigilante who patrols the U.S. border to keep it secure, Man: Bigfoot, this is Zulu. Do you copy? moves in with a family of illegal immigrants in the heart of Los Angeles. Man: You're an illegal alien and you are telling me where to go. You are causing problems. Narrator: Will he hold on to his belief that illegal immigrants are a plague on the nation that needs to be removed. Man: I do not give up my God damn country for nobody. Narrator: Or will he come to see them as equals that deserve to become Americans. Croud: [chanting] USA USA USA Man: They don't mean that. Narrator: Find out today on 30 days. Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free. Unless of course you enter the country illegally. Over eleven million illegal immigrants live in America today. While they come from every nation in the world, the largest numbers are from Mexico and Central America having crossed the Mexican border illegally. The immigration debate has divided America between those who think illegal immigrants should be rounded up and deported and those who think they should be granted amnesty and allowed to become citizens. Crowd: We got this. Narrator: Last year, the House of Representatives approved a bill making it a felony to be in the country illegally. John McCain: The definition of the word amnesty is forgiveness. We did that in the 1980's and it didn't work. Narrator: The proposed legislation sent shock waves through immigrant communities, sparking some of the largest demonstrations in the history of the United States. President George W. Bush: The border should be opened to trade and lawful immigration. And shut to illegal immigrants. Narrator: Ever since our nation was founded, we have been a country of immigrants offering the world a place of refuge and a shot at the American dream. But now, more than 200 years later, is that dream over? We will find out when a gun toting, border patrolling, anti-immigration, minute man moves in with a family of illegal immigrants for the next thirty days. [music] Narrator: We found someone who has dedicated his life to keeping illegal immigrants out of America. And he isn't afraid to take his mission to the front lines. Frank: My name is Frank George. Also known as Franciso Honehim. I am an immigrant from Guantanamo, Cuba and I am here today to protest illegal aliens from Mexico. We Americans are not going to put up with this anymore. There is not one American flag above you, I don't think. You have faith. The patriotic American people you have faced the minute men and our state organization. Narrator: In 1957 when Frank was only seven years old, he and his family fled their home during the Cuban Revolution. Because his father worked for an American sugar company, his family was able to immigrate legally to the United States. Yet Frank and his parents were forced to leave their home and possessions behind. Frank: When we came there was no such thing as asylum or amnesty. We had to obey the laws of immigration. We weren't given any breaks. We just did it all legally. I'm very proud of my father and mother for having done that. Men: Go home racists, go home. Frank: People have to understand that I have already been through the experience of losing a country. What we see developing here is the possibility of extreme civil strife and violence. The recent events in Los Angeles where 500,000 have come out and demonstrated for their rights is inconceivable to me because the only right they have is to be deported back to whatever country of origin they came from. I can't see thousands of people coming over the border every day and not do something about it. Narrator: Frank, his wife Jane, and their fellow minute men buddies all gather to patrol the border on weekends. More than a million illegall immigrants attempt to cross the US/Mexican border each year. And the seven thousand volunteer members of the minute men have taken matters into their own hands to try and stop as many of them as they can. Frank: I got involved with the minute men after 9/11. 9/11 was an immigration related issue. These men who killed so many of our own, set the American people like myself into motion. Big foot this is Hulu do you copy? Let's break out the good stuff. Standard thing when I go to the border, is to take my nine millimeter hand gun, take lots of ammo, take my Caltech rifle that is a two-twenty-three round and I take at least five hundred rounds. I take my wife with me, she is pretty tough and she's got her own rifle and she is gungho. She won't put up with any crap either. Wife: Do you see them standing? Frank: Yeah, I see them standing out there. Narrator: The minute men do not apprehend illegal immigrants. Instead they report any illegal crossings to the US border patrol. Woman: Oh there are more down here. Frank: We got about six of them out there and there is going to be more so thank you guys, you are doing a good job. Proud of you already. When I think of illegal immigration and the problems that it brings to the United States, the fore most problem that I see is that it will bring about the disillusion of this country. It will tear it apart totally and completely. Narrator: Frank will spend the next thirty days living with the Gonzales family whose seven members are some of the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants that presently live in Los Angeles. Patty and her husband Rigoberto have five kids. The two youngest, Ricardo and Karina were born in the US so they are American citizens. The three oldest children Arial, Armida, and Albanidia crossed the border illegally with their parents twelve years ago and have been living here undocumented ever since. The family who come from a small town in Central Mexico share a tiny one bedroom apartment that measures less than 500 square feet. Before he heads off to Los Angeles, Frank and his wife have a last meal at their home in Mojave, California. Jane: Oh you know what really ticks me off? Frank: What? Jane: If they are one of the families that covered the American flag with the Mexican flag. Frank: Well, you know. Jane: That's almost like a take over issue. Frank: A lot of us look at it, and it looks like an occupying army. What comes next? Is there going to be violence? Jane: Just keep your head down. Frank: It could be possible. Narrator: To live as an illegal immigrant for the next thirty days, Frank will have to follow three rules: first, he will have to leave any and all personal identification behind. Second, he'll have to move in with a whole family of illegal immigrants and share their tiny apartment. And third, he will be put to work as a day laborer. Frank: I am just going to go like I have no identity here in the United States. That's the way they do it, that's the way I am going to do it. [music playing] Frank: This is East Los Angeles but it is not the East Los Angeles that I knew years ago. A lot of it looks more to me like I am in Mexico. For me, living in with illegal aliens for thirty days it is an opportunity to present before the American people a problem that is huge. I want millions of Americans to get up there and do something about this before our nation is gone. Armida: No, I wouldn't want a Latino man that would like totally suck. If he is a white minute man than I would totally understand why he doesn't like immigrants but if he is a Latino.. Frank: I'm concerned about how they might perceive me because of my border activities. I have some anxiety of how I may be received. Because I am not at all in favor of them being here illegally. To be very honest you know, my thought is to arrive and then thirty seconds later have an INS bus pick them up. Hi Paty: Hi Frank: I am Frank. I am Frank or Francisco. Pleased to meet you sir. Armida: Armida. Frank: Armida? Pleased to meet you Armida. And you are? Albanida: My name is Albanida. Frank: And you young lady? Karina: Karina. Frank: Karina? I am Frank. Ricardo: Ricardo. Frank: Ricardo. Armida: So you are Cuban? Frank: Yeah I was actually born there. All of a sudden I am in the living room and I'm looking at the family and its entirety and they are looking at me and I could tell that there was an uneasiness between all of us. How would you solve your immigration status problem if you could. Armida: I am just going to do good in college and I don't know. Talk to lawyers and see what I can do. Are you completely against the amnesty? Frank: Yeah. Armida: So no exceptions? Frank: I am sorry to say it's no exceptions. Armida: So do you feel like a hypocrite because you were born in Cuba? Frank: No! Because... Armida: Because you came here legally? Frank: Yes. Yes. Armida: We are not criminals you know. I am doing fine in school and I know my grade adds to this country. Frank: By immigration of laws, it is very important that we abide by our laws. We can't have another amnesty. Our government is too irresponsible. Armida: I just hope that he questions what he really believes in and really gets to see what we go through, through our eyes. Frank: If I could deport the Gonzales' tomorrow I would have to. That's the way the law is written. Narrator: It is day two and Frank, an anti-immigration minute man, wakes up to find himself the eighth member of a family of illegal immigrants in Los Angeles. Paty: Hello! Frank: The house is very very crowded. There are just too many of them in this little of square footage. They are a big family. Little kids, and kids that are older, mom and dad. Very small square footage for the abode they live in. Very little privacy. Something that few Americans would be willing to accept. Who plays golf? Riocardo: My sisters, everyone. Frank: Really? Alrial: My sister Armida, she is the captain. Last year she played for the city finals. Just because of one stroke, she didn't make it to the state finals. Frank: Really? I think it is my turn to use the restroom now. Narrator: Rigoberto supports his family by working as a handy man in the local neighborhood. By taking care of the apartment complexes his family lives in his whole family survives on less than fifteen thousand dollars a year. Which is well below the US poverty line. With a new set of hands in the house, Rigoberto wastes no time putting Frank to work as a day laborer. Frank: I can see what Rigoberto does every single day to earn money for his family, he doesn't have steady employment, it trickles in. He tries to develop it as he can. Twenty dollars here, thirty dollars there. He gets paid less than anybody else. That's part of the secret of why some people keep illegal aliens because they exploit the hell out of them. People that hire him are making a killing at his expense. The flip side is that an American laborer cannot compete with those prices. Cannot. That means that Mr. Gonzales keeps himself in poverty but also keeps Americans from getting food on their tables. Armida: How do you get into the whole minute man project? I just keep on thinking about it. Frank: Alright, let me explain that to you. Armida: You are an immigrant like the pilgrims. The pilgrims were immigrants. Frank: Yes but I am a legal immigrant. I had to do certain things. Armida: Were the pilgrims legal too? Frank: They were legal in the sense that England owned America at that time. Armida: How did they own it? Frank: Well because they took it over. Armida: By force! Frank: First it belonged to England. The pilgrims came. Armida: And before that? Frank: Well it belonged to the Indians. And unfortunately the point is that we do lose countries by force. We lose countries by responsibility of the people suffering. Armida: It's okay. How about you see a family in the border with two kids and parents and do you see the future in the little girl? Frank: I feel compassion and I feel sorry for them. Armida: But you still call the border patrol. Frank: That's what I am supposed to do. I am a citizen of this country. I am taking care of this country and I have to protect it. That is the oath that I took. That is the oath that I uphold. Armida: Like many illegal immigrants that one day shall become legal, they will take the oath too. The American dream, oh my gosh, if that's the American dream, this nation is what it is known for, the American dream. And for him to want to stop that is like, it's insane. Narrator: It's day four and Armida's high school teacher, Mr. Young, has invited Armida and her family to a local Mexican restaurant to celebrate her upcoming high school graduation. Armida is an honor student with a 3.8 grade point average. Her dream is to be the first in her family to get a college education. Armida: In September I will start college. I still don't know which one because, okay. My top choice is Princeton. I'm waiting to hear from Princeton and my second choice is Santa Clara University. I applied to a full ride scholarship so if I get this scholarship, I can go to any university I wanted to so hopefully in September I am taking off. Princeton here I go! Mr. Young: Well since I first met Armida back in the sixth grade and she was wondering and looking around, seeing how things were, she has been an inspiration to me, she has been an inspiration to everyone that I know. Teachers still talk about her. It doesn't surprise anyone what's happened to her, I thank you very much for allowing me to be a part of it. Thank you. That's it. It's all Armi. It's all Armi. I love you, dear. Armida: You make me cry. Frank: I have been to the borders, I know what I am talking about. Mr. Young: These guys are idiots. They are idiots. Frank: We are not idiots. We go to the border to see what's happening. That's what I do. I am not a God damn idiot. Mr. Young: You are going to send thirty million people back to Mexico? Then what? Where do you go with that? And how are you going to deal with the children of these people? You're going to leave them here who are the citizens? Frank: They have to have a revolution in their country. They have to fix their country. I don't want any American blood shed over Mexico. Mr. Young: You're making it once again. You're making it sound like there's forty of them here and we can just straighten out these forty and they are here! That's what I don't get, they are here! Frank: Problems are problems. They are here alright. But a problem is a problem and you have to deal with them. That's what it is. Life is not easy. Why does it happen? Because this God damn government doesn't know what it is supposed to do. Because their God damn government in Mexico has let them down. I do not give up my God damn country for nobody. You come to America and you keep your culture. Yes. But you become an American you can treat it in that sense. But you hit the God damn street because you have a problem with America don't go out there with some God damn flag other than the American flag. Show people that you are for this country. America is an ailing body. The sickness is illegal immigration and all the corruption accompanies it. Americans get up and save this country or you will have none. Narrator: A week into his thirty day experience living with a family of illegal immigrants, minute man, Frank's presence has made the Gonzales' apartment that much smaller. To show Frank how she pitches in to help make a living, Paty invites him on her weekly trip to the recycling center. Since they can't get steady jobs without legal documents, Paty and her family do whatever they can to make ends meet. Frank: It was Paty, the wife, who broke the ice for me with a beautiful, wonderful, loving personality that just embraces you without even touching you. It is very hard on a person when you look on a people and you like them, yet you know they are not supposed to be here. You know that they broke the law by being here, yet you feel for them. Ricardo: You pick them up with this. Frank: So you pick them up with this. Ricardo: Like this. Frank: Like this. We are being pulled apart in a sense and I always have to keep reminding myself that it's like having friends that you have not had for a long time. But you know we are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Armida: Have you seen those guys on the border with guns that are trying to keep immigrants out of the country? Friend: They are at your house? Armida: Yeah. He is there. He eats there. He is there 24/7. Frank: Just like they had some concerns about me being a minute man, I had some concerns about these folks and what could transpire. But we come to find out that we are together and we get along well. They are very warm people. After a while it became like there is an aspect of family here. Narrator: On day twelve, Frank and Armida put politics aside long enough to give him his first golf lesson. Frank: How long have you been golfing? Armida: Since tenth grade. Frank: Since tenth grade! It's funny to me that Armida very badly wants to be a part of mainstream America. She wants to have this collegiate experience where she will be admitted into this big college and she can have what rich girls have. There is a point where Armida has to face reality. It's very hard. It's very difficult for somebody to get a scholarship of the type that she wants. Particularly given her immigrant status. Hey. Armida: That's where it is supposed to go. Frank: That is fantabulous. Armida: I like Frank. As long as I don't talk about politics with him, I am fine. Just when we start talking about politics I get this huge, huge headache. Okay! Frank: Okay! My first time golfing and I am getting beat by a girl. Oh congratulations. Armida: Yeah, I beat you. Frank: Yes you did. Narrator: After a month of waiting. The letter that Armida has been anxiously expecting from Princeton University has finally arrived. Armida: Where is it at? Where is the letter? The admission process is a difficult one for students and families. Your application was reviewed thoroughly and we realize that you may be disappointed with our decision. The admission community has not admitted and I am sorry to inform you that you will not be coming to Princeton this year. (inaudible) Narrator: It's day fifteen and the United States Senate is debating a new immigration bill. Unlike the House of Representative's plan that would make Armida and her family felons who could be imprisoned, the Senates bill provides a path for legalization that would give them a shot at becoming American citizens. Armida: You know the bill that I was telling you about? I have been reading up on it and it was on the news this morning because right now they are talking about it in the Senate. Frank: It is a very lively debate. Armida: So you really wouldn't want this bill to pass? Frank: No. I would not. I would not. Armida: Would you protest against it? Frank: Of course I would. Armida: You would? Frank: Of course I would, I would have to. Armida: Do you see they are willing to become American and what's that word that you use all the time? To stimulate! Frank: If you are going to become a legal resident and you are still going to employ and give a helping hand to illegal aliens, that to me is aiding and embedding, that is breaking the law. And of what value are you to our society? Narrator: Hoping to change Frank's mind, Armida invites him to a candlelight vigil to show him the wide spread support for the new Senate legislation. Frank: What can you tell me about the Che Guevara t shirt? There is a young lady up there wearing one with Che Guevara's face on the front. Isn't that a symbol of revolution? Armida: That gives a name to the whole revolution. Yeah. My whole.. That is what this is. A revolution. Armida: You don't understand Frank. Frank: Wait wait wait. I'm a minute man American citizen and I don't understand that all these people that are here illegally are telling me that they are here, they want to stay here, they want their family to come here and that I should shut up and take it. Armida: So Frank, I have something for you. I have a candle here for you. Frank: Nope. I don't do that. I don't do that. I will not do that. Don't even offer me that. I won't do that. No. No. Armida: The reason we are doing this is like to get them some legal status from undocumented people that means the world to me. It really does mean the world to me. You know. Frank: We have laws and those laws should be respected. It's like all of that should be suspended because like this is her, she's here and she wants what we have and she claims it for her own. But she doesn't understand the basics. Crowd: USA USA USA USA USA Frank: They don't mean that. They do not mean that. That's a prop. Just like all the other American flags they are using, it is a prop. For their movement for their cause and it is the end of America is what it is. This is not the beginning of a revolution I don't know what is. Armida: Only he can change his mind. It's up to him, you know? He has to like see it. And come up with his own conclusion. If you are going to be here, you have to be willing to take care of this country and if you don't understand how to take care of this country then you have to go back to Mexico. Narrator: It's day twenty of Frank's thirty day stay with illegal immigrants. And Rigoberto has a proposition for him. Frank: I am sitting down in the morning talking to Rigoberto and all of a sudden he starts talking about Mexico and about this and that and the other. He says he's got his brother over there. Why don't I go see his brother down there. Paty and Rigo haven't seen their families in Mexico in over twelve years. Because like most illegal immigrants, they know that if they leave the United States, they probably won't make it back in. Last year, Paty's parents both died before she was able to visit them. Frank: Paty, you would like to go to Mexico to visit? Yes? When I saw Paty break down and cry because she had not been able to go down there to Mexico and visit her mom and dad before they died, I relived something from my own life. Because I remember my own mother not being able to go to Cuba to go and tend to her parents or to even visit when they died. It's an unusual opportunity. One that will not come this way, probably ever again. So I figured, hey, why not. Narrator: It's day twenty-three and having accepted Rigo's offer to go visit his brother in Mexico, Frank heads south of the border. Flight Attendant: The first airline in Mexico since 1921 welcomes you. Frank: When I see Rigo and Paty obviously hurting that they can't go and visit their families, of course I feel sorry for them. You have to. It's just an unfortunate set of circumstances that they are in. But if they went down here, they might not ever get back. Narrator: Rigo's arranged for Frank to stay with his younger brother Mario in the house they grew up in. Frank: I take that this is the place. Being inside of Rigo's brother's house, it was weird. I just wanted to get out of there as soon as I could. The place was filthy, not because they don't have a habit of cleaning it, it's just that no matter what you try and clean there, you can't make something clean that has got fifty years of dirt on it. This is a very terrible place to live. Only people that were homeless, which they were, would live in a place like this. You couldn't possibly last very long. My understanding is that the only water supply came from up the hill some place over there and it was just natural water of sorts, it was not treated, so if there was any kind of bacteria or anything that would carry disease, they would get it. This is not a place like a home at all. No way. Nobody lasts in anything like this. You get out of here as soon as you can. First chance you got. They made the place a home for themselves but it's not a place anybody could really live in. It's just a hubble, a horrible place. Just horrible. It's unimaginable. I'm sure that it is pretty much burnt into their memories. Maybe that's the reason that Armida tries so hard to do well in school and I think that this is part of the key to a lot of her behavior. That she wants to succeed and she wants and tries hard to succeed because she has been in this place. And she never wants to go back to this place again. Yep. Having come down here brings a new dimension into that dialogue that we have quite often when she looks at me and she says "I want to be legalized." But you know, even though I always imagined that they came from a background of poverty, until you see what they would be going back to, you can't feel the full impact of everything. It does bring up a tremendous aspect of what they would be going back to. No doubt about that. That just shows the kind of dilemma that we are in. As human beings who have a heart a nd feel for other people and you say to yourself, I want the laws of my country enforced, but at the same time you look at what they are headed to, it does have an effect. Narrator: It's day twenty -five and the Gonzales family is waiting for Franks return from Mexico. Armida: I am so anxious I can't imagine, like seriously. Frank: You can't even really call it a house. It was just about the size of that room. Armida: How does my grandma look? Does she look really old? Frank: She is an elderly woman yes but her complexion is very nice. Armida: How about my grandpa, is he tall, short? Frank: I think he is about your dad's height. Armida: I don't have pictures of my grandparents. I just remember slightly of how they looked liked. But it's all like a vague memory. Frank: Do you want to raise the volume on that thing? Armida: I know that my grandpa is sick and he is about to die. He looks so fragile, you know? I wish I really had the money so I could take care of him, you know? I just wish I had the opportunity to have grandparents growing up. Frank: I look at the poverty that they have in Mexico and I can't blame them for trying to seek a better life. I can't. I just cannot. I never expected that I would feel as warmly about this family as I do. Never thought it would happen. WOW! I think, you know, perhaps what we learn is that first and foremost, we are human beings. That's the thing that overrides everything else, the politics and everything else. I had a good time even though it was very stressful. I didn't know what to expect when I walked in through the door. Would there be a bunch of people there smiling at me holding knives behind their backs or what was going to happen, but it only took a few moments to realize that you are a good, warm people. Armida: I think you changed. Frank: You think? I've become worse, how? Armida: No. Frank: I have walked the way with another perspective involving human beings and seeing how close, what happens. Armida: Are these minute men people your buddies? Or are they just people you know are acquaintances? Frank: No, they are just acquaintances. My only real friend is my wife. I know you better than I know most minute men. It's a fact. Armida: So are you still going to be a minute man? Frank: I am sort of tired going to the border. It would be very strange at this point in time for me to go to the border. Armida: I am really going to miss you. Frank: I am going to miss you too. Genuinely. Armida: He is changing. He doesn't feel strong about his whole beliefs as he did before. It really means a lot, you know because it just shows this part of transformation. Frank: So you know if something happens, you get deported or whatever... Armida: You will sponser me? Frank: I'll sponsor you as long as everything is legal. That has always been my thing. I don't think that any government agent is going to have the opportunity that I have had to see the kind of people that you are. Why not be a part of what helps to bring them here legally? Narrator: On Frank's final day, with the Gonzales family, a letter arrives from Santa Clara University. This could be Armida's last chance to go away to college in the fall. Armida: I can't open it, you open it. Read it! Albanida: Hold on. You got in! Armida: Yay! I got in Frank! Frank: Congratulations. Armida: Are you going to give me a hug? Frank: Sure. Armida: You have challenged yourself academically, you have contributed to your school and local community you show an understanding of Santa Clara mission. We know that you will enrich our community. We have made our decision. I am the first one in my family to go to college so I think that I am the one that is going to make the transition from a regular ghetto kid from east LA to a college student. Frank: So it looks like you got what you wanted. Looks great! Not a lot of people do. That's fantastic. Armida: It's just scary if I do not get the money, you know? Frank: Yeah. I understand that. I do. I understand that completely. Armida; It's really expensive. Do you have $40,000 in the bank that I could borrow. Frank: You know it's funny I was going to ask you the same thing. Armida: Do you? Frank: It's going to be hard saying goodbye to all of them. I will do the best that I can because men are not supposed to cry. But I will miss them all. I will. I have learned so much from you. Armida: Don't forget that. Frank: There comes a time when you love people for who they are. All politics aside. It's surprising to meet people that you don't want to be in this country because of the way they came in and liking them so much. What a shock. I'll never forget that. Never forget that.