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Duarte Geraldino: What we're missing in the debate about immigration
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Between 2008 and 2016, the United States deported more than three million people. What happens to those left behind? Journalist Duarte Geraldino picks up the story of deportation where the state leaves off. Learn more about the wider impact of forced removal as Geraldino explains how the sudden absence of a mother, a local business owner or a high school student ripples outward and wreaks havoc on the relationships that hold our communities together.
Duarte Geraldino - Journalist
Duarte Geraldino is working on a multi-year project that chronicles the lives of citizens who lose people to deportation. Full bio
Duarte Geraldino is working on a multi-year project that chronicles the lives of citizens who lose people to deportation. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
So, Ma was trying to explain
something to me
something to me
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about Grandma and when they grew up,
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but I couldn't pay attention to her
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because I was five years old,
and I was petrified.
and I was petrified.
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I had just seen The Green Lady.
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Now, about a week earlier,
I'd watched that movie "Godzilla,"
I'd watched that movie "Godzilla,"
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the one about that huge lizard-like beast
storming a major city,
storming a major city,
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and the thought of a green monster
coming for me was stuck in my mind.
coming for me was stuck in my mind.
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And yet there I was,
at the tip of Lower Manhattan with my mom,
at the tip of Lower Manhattan with my mom,
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just staring at her:
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her horns,
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her muscles --
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all of it just frightened me.
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And I didn't know
whether she was a monster or a hero.
whether she was a monster or a hero.
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So I decided to consult
the Google of the day --
the Google of the day --
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"Ma! Ma!"
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(Laughter)
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My mother explained that The Green Lady
is actually the Statue of Liberty
is actually the Statue of Liberty
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and that she was waving immigrants in.
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Now, the part of her explanation
that really messed with my young head
that really messed with my young head
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was the fact that, according to Ma,
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long before us,
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The Green Lady was actually brown,
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brown like me,
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and that she changed
colors over the years,
colors over the years,
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much like America.
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Now, the part that really
is intriguing about this
is intriguing about this
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is that when she changed colors,
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she made me think about myself.
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It all made sense to me,
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because as a first-generation American,
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I was surrounded by immigrants.
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In fact, within my immediate social circle
of the people who support me,
of the people who support me,
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who enrich my life,
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at least two are foreign-born.
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My life as a US citizen is in many ways
shaped by newcomers,
shaped by newcomers,
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and chances are,
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so is yours.
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There are more than 40 million
immigrants in the USA.
immigrants in the USA.
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According to census data,
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a quarter of the nation's children
have at least one foreign-born parent.
have at least one foreign-born parent.
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I know all these statistics
because I study global migration patterns.
because I study global migration patterns.
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I'm a journalist,
and for the last few years,
and for the last few years,
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I've been documenting
the lives of US citizens
the lives of US citizens
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who've lost people to deportation.
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And the numbers are enormous.
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From 2008 to 2016,
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more than three million people
were "ordered removed" --
were "ordered removed" --
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that's the technical term
for being deported.
for being deported.
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There is an economic, a political,
a psychological and an emotional cost
a psychological and an emotional cost
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to those deportations --
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the moments when these circles are broken.
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I once asked a US soldier,
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"Why did you volunteer to fight this war?"
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And she told me,
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"Because I'm proud to defend my country."
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But I pressed to know --
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"Really, when you're on base,
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and you hear bombs
exploding in the distance,
exploding in the distance,
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and you see soldiers coming back
who are gravely injured,
who are gravely injured,
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in that moment,
when you know you could be next,
when you know you could be next,
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what does 'my country' mean?"
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She looked at me.
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"My country is my wife,
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my family,
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my friends, my soldiers."
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What she was telling me
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is that "my country" is a collection
of these strong relationships;
of these strong relationships;
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these social circles.
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When the social circles are weakened,
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a country itself is weaker.
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We're missing a crucial aspect
in the debate about immigration policy.
in the debate about immigration policy.
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Rather than focusing on individuals,
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we should focus
on the circles around them,
on the circles around them,
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because these are the people
who are left behind:
who are left behind:
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the voters, the taxpayers,
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the ones who are suffering that loss.
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And it's not just the children
of the deported
of the deported
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who are impacted.
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You have brothers and sisters
who are separated by borders.
who are separated by borders.
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You have classmates, teachers,
law enforcement officers,
law enforcement officers,
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technologists, scientists, doctors,
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who are all scrambling
to make sense of new realities
to make sense of new realities
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when their social circles are broken.
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These are the real lives
behind all these statistics
behind all these statistics
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that dominate discussions
about immigration policy.
about immigration policy.
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But we don't often think about them.
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And I'm trying to change that.
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Here's just one of the real-life stories
that I've collected.
that I've collected.
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And it still haunts me.
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I met Ramon and his son in 2016,
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the same year both of them
were being ordered out of the country.
were being ordered out of the country.
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Ramon was being deported to Latin America,
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while his son, who was a sergeant
in the US military,
in the US military,
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was being deployed.
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Deported ...
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deployed.
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If you just look at Ramon's case,
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it wouldn't be clear how deeply
connected to the country he is.
connected to the country he is.
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But consider his son:
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a US citizen defending a country
that's banished his father.
that's banished his father.
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The social circle is what's key here.
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Here's another example
that illustrates those critical bonds.
that illustrates those critical bonds.
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A group of citizens in Philadelphia
were concerned about their jobs,
were concerned about their jobs,
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because the legal owner
of the restaurant where they worked
of the restaurant where they worked
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was an undocumented immigrant,
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and immigration officials
had picked him up.
had picked him up.
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They rallied behind him.
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An immigration lawyer argued
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he was too important
to the local community
to the local community
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to be deported.
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At the hearing, they even submitted
restaurant reviews --
restaurant reviews --
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restaurant reviews!
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In the end, a judge exercised
what's called "judicial discretion"
what's called "judicial discretion"
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and allowed him to stay in the country,
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but only because they considered
the social circle.
the social circle.
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There are 23 million
noncitizens in the USA,
noncitizens in the USA,
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according to verifiable federal data.
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And that doesn't include the undocumented,
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because numbers for that population
are at best complex estimates.
are at best complex estimates.
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Let's just work with what we have.
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That's 23 million social circles --
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about 100 million individuals
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whose lives could be impacted
by deportation.
by deportation.
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And the stress of it all is trickling down
through the population.
through the population.
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A 2017 poll by UCLA of LA County residents
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found that 30 percent
of citizens in LA County
of citizens in LA County
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are stressed about deportation,
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not because they themselves
could be removed,
could be removed,
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but rather, because members
of their social circle were at risk.
of their social circle were at risk.
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I am not suggesting that no one
should ever be deported;
should ever be deported;
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don't confuse me with that.
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But what I am saying is that we need
to look at the bigger picture.
to look at the bigger picture.
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If you are within the sound of my voice,
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I want you to close your eyes for a moment
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and examine your own social circle.
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Who are your foreign-born?
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What would it feel like
if the circle were broken?
if the circle were broken?
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Share your story.
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I'm building a global archive
of first-person accounts
of first-person accounts
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and linking them with mapping technology,
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so that we can see exactly
where these circles break,
where these circles break,
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because this is not
just an American issue.
just an American issue.
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There are a quarter-billion migrants
around the world;
around the world;
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people living, loving and learning
in countries where they were not born.
in countries where they were not born.
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And in my career, in my life,
I've been one of them:
I've been one of them:
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in China, in Africa, in Europe.
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And each time I become
one of these foreigners --
one of these foreigners --
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one of these strange-looking
guys in a new land --
guys in a new land --
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I can't help but think back to that day
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when I was in Lower Manhattan with my mom
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all those decades ago,
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when I was scared,
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and I had just spotted that green lady.
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And I guess the question
that I keep on thinking about
that I keep on thinking about
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when I see her
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and all the younger replicas of her
that are so obviously brown,
that are so obviously brown,
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and even the paintings
that showcase her in the beginning
that showcase her in the beginning
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as not quite green --
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when I look at all of that,
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the question that my research
seeks to answer
seeks to answer
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becomes, to me, the same one
that confounded me all those years ago:
that confounded me all those years ago:
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Is she a monster
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or a hero?
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Duarte Geraldino - JournalistDuarte Geraldino is working on a multi-year project that chronicles the lives of citizens who lose people to deportation.
Why you should listen
Duarte Geraldino is an American journalist who travels the country documenting how culture is being changed and challenged by shifting demographics, business and technology. He leads a team of skilled journalists who produce multimedia reports and short films that have been distributed around the world through national and global news networks. He is currently working on a multi-year project that chronicles the lives of citizens who lose people to deportation called Hear Our Stories Now.
He is currently a special correspondent for PBS NewsHour. At the NewsHour, he reports and writes long-form television stories about business trends like the housing crisis that is gripping many American cities and developments in labor laws that some see as choking middle and low-income workers.
In 2017, one of Geraldino's short documentaries, Ordered Out, was screened in New York's Times Square as part of the Dominican Film Festival New York. It explores the impact of American identity and immigration and tells the story of a family being torn apart by US laws. In the same year, he was selected as a TED Resident. During his residency at TED's global headquarters, he started developing a digital journalism project to document the lives of US citizens who have lost people to deportation.
Previously, Geraldino worked as a National Correspondent for Al Jazeera America and as a local news reporter in New York, Ohio, Texas and Maryland.
Duarte Geraldino | Speaker | TED.com