TED Salon: Border Stories
Juan Enriquez: A personal plea for humanity at the US-Mexico border
Filmed:
Readability: 3.2
1,394,621 views
In this powerful, personal talk, author and academic Juan Enriquez shares stories from inside the immigration crisis at the US-Mexico border, bringing this often-abstract debate back down to earth -- and showing what you can do every day to create a sense of belonging for immigrants. "This isn't about kids and borders," he says. "It's about us. This is about who we are, who we the people are, as a nation and as individuals."
Juan Enriquez - Futurist
Juan Enriquez thinks and writes about the profound changes that genomics and other life sciences will bring in business, technology, politics and society. Full bio
Juan Enriquez thinks and writes about the profound changes that genomics and other life sciences will bring in business, technology, politics and society. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:14
This one's personal.
0
2048
1333
00:17
I know what it's like
to have the government say,
to have the government say,
1
5309
3287
00:20
"We're going to kill you in the morning."
2
8620
2119
00:24
I know what it's like
to leave a country on six hours' notice
to leave a country on six hours' notice
3
12314
3571
00:27
and land on someone's couch.
4
15909
1848
00:29
Because of that, I wrote a book
5
17781
1501
00:31
on why countries do well
and why they don't.
and why they don't.
6
19306
3000
00:35
Let me summarize 250 pages.
7
23246
2023
00:37
Countries have to be compassionate,
8
25809
1715
00:39
they have to be kind,
9
27548
1150
00:40
they have to be smart,
they have to be brave.
they have to be brave.
10
28722
2476
00:43
Want to know what doesn't work?
11
31539
1522
00:45
When you govern through fear
and you govern through cruelty,
and you govern through cruelty,
12
33085
3024
00:48
it just doesn't work.
13
36133
1400
00:50
You can play Genghis Khan for a while,
14
38117
1821
00:51
you can play Stalin for a while,
15
39962
1550
00:53
you can play Pinochet for a while.
16
41536
1961
00:55
It does not work in the long run.
17
43521
2200
00:58
And it doesn't work in the long run
18
46776
1682
01:00
because to govern
through fear and cruelty,
through fear and cruelty,
19
48482
2690
01:03
you have to create a division.
20
51196
2000
01:05
You have to take big chunks
of the country and convince them
of the country and convince them
21
53855
2968
01:08
that they're not like them.
22
56847
1467
01:11
That they shouldn't associate with them,
23
59862
1914
01:13
they shouldn't talk to them.
24
61800
1388
01:15
That those people are nasty,
25
63212
1357
01:16
those people are criminals,
those people are rapists.
those people are rapists.
26
64593
2641
01:20
And the country is in danger
because of them.
because of them.
27
68701
2563
01:24
And if you spend millions of dollars
doing that in your country,
doing that in your country,
28
72551
3841
01:28
you will make enemies abroad,
29
76416
1933
01:32
and you will create divisions within.
30
80097
2467
01:35
And that has consequences.
31
83149
1733
01:37
Three quarters of the flags
and the borders and the anthems
and the borders and the anthems
32
85355
2906
01:40
around the United Nations today,
33
88285
1547
01:41
they were not there a few decades ago.
34
89856
2229
01:45
Those lines that are there today,
35
93577
1587
01:47
those flags were created
because somebody said,
because somebody said,
36
95188
2754
01:49
"the Scotts are not like us,"
37
97966
1492
01:51
"the Welsh are not like us,"
38
99482
1341
01:52
"the Basques are not like us,"
39
100847
1441
01:54
"the northern Italians are not like us,"
40
102312
1921
01:56
"the Muslims are not like us,"
41
104257
1479
01:57
the blacks, the whites, the Christians.
42
105760
2600
02:01
You create "us versus them" ...
43
109442
1734
02:04
you destroy nations.
44
112347
1563
02:07
Part of the problem
from creating us versus them
from creating us versus them
45
115173
2253
02:09
is it's hard to do.
46
117450
1267
02:12
What you have to do
47
120109
1174
02:13
is you have to make people
believe absurdities.
believe absurdities.
48
121307
2598
02:17
And once people believe absurdities,
49
125096
2491
02:19
then they start to commit atrocities.
50
127611
2295
02:22
That's the dynamic of this thing.
51
130239
1595
02:23
You can't create "us versus them" --
52
131858
2067
02:26
you can't have the massacres
you had in Rwanda,
you had in Rwanda,
53
134236
2198
02:28
you can't have the massacres
you had in Yugoslavia --
you had in Yugoslavia --
54
136458
2593
02:31
unless if you create this dynamic.
55
139839
2476
02:34
Let me summarize
current immigration policy.
current immigration policy.
56
142339
2293
02:36
Let's deter "Them"
57
144656
1818
02:38
by being as cruel as we can possibly be,
58
146498
3341
02:41
and let's target their children.
59
149863
2133
02:45
They are going after the children.
60
153474
2793
02:49
You have US lawyers arguing
that kids do not need
that kids do not need
61
157252
3158
02:52
soap or hugs or showers,
62
160434
2516
02:54
adult help or a release date.
63
162974
1933
02:57
Somebody gets pulled over
for a broken tail light,
for a broken tail light,
64
165293
2361
02:59
who's worked here for 20 years,
65
167678
2757
03:02
gets thrown into jail,
66
170459
1675
03:04
maybe for life,
67
172158
1523
03:05
with no legal representation.
68
173705
1801
03:07
The terrorists that blew up
the World Trade Center get lawyers.
the World Trade Center get lawyers.
69
175530
3547
03:11
These kids, these parents,
they don't get lawyers.
they don't get lawyers.
70
179514
3372
03:15
Governments are telling
71
183966
1199
03:17
some of the most desperate,
hurt people on earth,
hurt people on earth,
72
185189
2309
03:19
"I took your child, pay me 800 dollars
for a DNA test before you get it back."
for a DNA test before you get it back."
73
187522
3995
03:24
Three-year-olds are appearing in court.
74
192784
2324
03:27
Look, we've all watched these
courtroom dramas.
courtroom dramas.
75
195649
4096
03:31
And it's exciting,
76
199769
1175
03:32
because the wise judge sits up there,
77
200968
2809
03:35
and the defense lawyer attacks
78
203801
1996
03:37
and the prosecutor counterattacks,
79
205821
1962
03:39
and then you figure out
how it's going to happen.
how it's going to happen.
80
207807
2381
03:42
I want you to understand
what is happening right now.
what is happening right now.
81
210212
3040
03:47
Prosecutor's there --
it's the tough prosecutor.
it's the tough prosecutor.
82
215220
3480
03:52
Accusing, attacking,
on behalf of we the people.
on behalf of we the people.
83
220450
3488
03:57
The judge is up there, Judge Muckety-muck,
84
225436
2172
03:59
with his black robes,
85
227632
1748
04:02
and he's questioning the defendant
86
230381
1627
04:04
from up there.
87
232032
2134
04:07
And the defendant is three years old
88
235569
1786
04:09
and the eyes don't reach
the side of the table.
the side of the table.
89
237379
3200
04:14
The defendant does not speak the language.
90
242514
2800
04:17
The earphones for the translator
have fallen off the defendant's head,
have fallen off the defendant's head,
91
245911
4293
04:22
because there are no headphones
for three-year-olds in US courtrooms,
for three-year-olds in US courtrooms,
92
250228
5332
04:28
because they are not supposed
to defend themselves.
to defend themselves.
93
256498
2939
04:33
This makes a mockery of justice,
94
261223
1666
04:34
it makes a mockery
of the prosecution system,
of the prosecution system,
95
262913
2103
04:37
it makes a mockery
of who we are as a nation.
of who we are as a nation.
96
265040
2608
04:40
These are absurdities.
97
268143
1467
04:42
These are atrocities.
98
270443
1183
04:43
This is unbelievable.
99
271650
1912
04:45
And we're looking
at a bunch of statistics,
at a bunch of statistics,
100
273586
2015
04:47
but I want you to understand,
101
275625
2334
04:49
this is happening to the housekeeper
who brought up your kids.
who brought up your kids.
102
277983
4299
04:55
This is happening to the gardener
who took care of your house.
who took care of your house.
103
283529
3460
05:00
This is happening to the guy
who washed the dishes
who washed the dishes
104
288291
2548
05:02
in the fancy restaurant
you went to last week.
you went to last week.
105
290863
2542
05:07
This is happening to the people
who deliver the newspaper in the mornings.
who deliver the newspaper in the mornings.
106
295049
3486
05:10
This is your community,
107
298559
1489
05:12
these are the people who have lived
side by side with you.
side by side with you.
108
300072
4189
05:17
Treated you well,
109
305467
1166
05:18
treated you with respect,
110
306657
1199
05:19
taken care of your kids,
111
307880
1246
05:21
taken care of your grandparents.
112
309150
1579
05:22
This is Luis, this is Laura,
113
310753
2373
05:25
this is Jaime.
114
313150
1150
05:26
This isn't some abstract,
115
314918
1691
05:28
"Oh, it's happening at the border" --
116
316633
1795
05:30
this is happening
in our community, right now.
in our community, right now.
117
318452
2867
05:35
And the danger in this stuff
118
323765
1349
05:37
is once you start normalizing
absurdities and atrocities,
absurdities and atrocities,
119
325138
3635
05:40
people think that
those instruments are legitimate.
those instruments are legitimate.
120
328797
2595
05:43
So you get school boards
sending out letters like this:
sending out letters like this:
121
331416
2970
05:46
"Dear Parent,
122
334410
1460
05:47
because your kid owes
lunch money to the cafeteria,
lunch money to the cafeteria,
123
335894
4150
05:52
the result may be that your child
will be taken away
will be taken away
124
340068
2528
05:54
and put in foster care."
125
342620
1711
05:56
This is going out from school boards
126
344355
1776
05:58
because people think,
127
346155
1167
05:59
"Well, that seems to be
an instrument of deterrence."
an instrument of deterrence."
128
347346
3534
06:05
When you board an airplane,
129
353219
1920
06:08
before kids, before first class,
130
356147
3126
06:12
soldiers in uniform board.
131
360164
1972
06:15
Some of them are immigrants.
132
363981
1867
06:18
Here's a contract: join the army,
133
366545
2833
06:21
serve your term, be honorably discharged,
134
369402
2277
06:23
get citizenship.
135
371703
1150
06:26
We are rescinding those contracts
136
374243
2120
06:28
after they have been signed.
137
376387
1866
06:31
And if those soldiers
are killed in action,
are killed in action,
138
379442
2396
06:33
we are deporting their wives,
and sometimes, their children.
and sometimes, their children.
139
381862
3937
06:37
These are the people who protect us.
140
385823
2072
06:39
These are the people that we honor.
141
387919
2333
06:42
These are the brave.
142
390617
1230
06:43
And this is how we're treating them.
143
391871
1722
06:45
These are not the people
who cross the border illegally.
who cross the border illegally.
144
393617
2944
06:48
Once you start allowing
this kind of behavior,
this kind of behavior,
145
396585
3333
06:51
it normalizes into a society,
and it rips the society apart.
and it rips the society apart.
146
399942
4492
06:57
Countries are built on the hard work
and grit of immigrants;
and grit of immigrants;
147
405045
3091
07:00
we are all immigrants.
148
408160
1466
07:02
We just came at different times.
149
410165
2357
07:04
Fifty-five percent
of this country's main businesses,
of this country's main businesses,
150
412546
5008
07:09
the most successful businesses
in this country, the unicorns,
in this country, the unicorns,
151
417578
3547
07:13
are built by people who came
as foreign students or as immigrants,
as foreign students or as immigrants,
152
421149
3952
07:17
and they're the founders
or the cofounders.
or the cofounders.
153
425125
2770
07:19
Well, here's what's happened
over the last three years
over the last three years
154
427919
2761
07:22
to the best brains in the world.
155
430704
2056
07:24
Forty-two percent of them
did not get visas
did not get visas
156
432784
2309
07:27
or chose not to get visas.
157
435117
1928
07:29
This is how you wipe out an economy.
158
437411
2492
07:31
This isn't about kids and borders.
159
439927
2266
07:34
It's about us.
160
442863
1150
07:37
This is about who we are,
who we the people are,
who we the people are,
161
445696
2785
07:41
as a nation and as individuals.
162
449387
2066
07:44
This is not an abstract debate.
163
452601
2067
07:49
A lot of us like to think
164
457852
1840
07:52
if we had been back
when Hitler was rising to power,
when Hitler was rising to power,
165
460732
3339
07:56
we would have been out in the street,
166
464095
1808
07:57
we would have opposed him,
we would have stopped Mengele.
we would have stopped Mengele.
167
465927
2714
08:00
A lot of us like to think,
168
468665
1666
08:03
if we had been around during the '60s,
169
471276
1952
08:05
we would have been
with the Freedom Riders.
with the Freedom Riders.
170
473252
2103
08:07
We would have been
at that bridge in Selma.
at that bridge in Selma.
171
475379
2531
08:09
Well, guess what?
172
477934
1150
08:11
Here's your chance.
173
479661
1556
08:13
It's now.
174
481241
1341
08:14
And as you're thinking about this stuff,
175
482606
3135
08:17
it's not just the giant acts,
176
485765
1404
08:19
it's not just go and block the bridge
177
487193
2135
08:21
or chain yourself to something.
178
489352
2067
08:24
It's what you do in your daily lives.
179
492148
2603
08:26
The Harvard Art Museum just opened a show
180
494775
5143
08:31
on how artists think about immigration
and building a home somewhere else.
and building a home somewhere else.
181
499942
3514
08:35
And people come out of that show
and they're pretty shaken.
and they're pretty shaken.
182
503480
2930
08:38
There was a blank wall at the end.
183
506434
1858
08:41
And the curators did something
that usually doesn't happen --
that usually doesn't happen --
184
509658
3095
08:44
they improvised.
185
512777
1150
08:46
They drew four lines,
and put in two words:
and put in two words:
186
514554
2363
08:49
"I belong."
187
517515
1188
08:50
So you come out of this exhibit,
188
518727
1572
08:52
and you can take a picture in front of it.
189
520323
2048
08:54
I can't tell you the impact
that has on people --
that has on people --
190
522395
2420
08:56
I watched people come out of this,
191
524839
2253
08:59
and some of them sat
in front of that picture,
in front of that picture,
192
527116
2421
09:01
took a picture, and they had
a great, big grin on their face,
a great, big grin on their face,
193
529561
2929
09:04
and some people just had tears.
194
532514
2066
09:07
Some people hugged
and brought in strangers,
and brought in strangers,
195
535173
2063
09:09
others brought in their family.
196
537260
1737
09:13
Small acts of kindness
go a long, long, long way.
go a long, long, long way.
197
541796
3778
09:18
There is pain going on in your community
198
546677
1944
09:20
like you cannot believe.
199
548645
1600
09:23
So next time you're with a cab driver
who may be one of "Them,"
who may be one of "Them,"
200
551025
3064
09:26
according to certain people,
201
554113
2325
09:28
give that person an extra five bucks.
202
556462
2158
09:32
Next time you see a hotel maid,
203
560025
2602
09:34
thank her and tip her double.
204
562651
1933
09:37
Next time you see your gardener,
205
565895
2388
09:40
you see your nanny,
206
568307
2024
09:42
you see somebody like this,
207
570355
1357
09:43
give them a great, big hug,
and tell them they belong.
and tell them they belong.
208
571736
2555
09:46
Make them feel like they belong.
209
574315
1530
09:48
It's time for big policies,
210
576856
1333
09:50
but it's also time
for big acts of kindness.
for big acts of kindness.
211
578213
3722
09:55
Because we have to reclaim who we are,
212
583206
1904
09:57
we have to reclaim this nation.
213
585134
2067
09:59
(Voice breaking) And we cannot sit there
214
587712
2881
10:02
and watch this shit going on.
215
590617
2151
10:05
This has got to stop,
it's got to stop now.
it's got to stop now.
216
593791
2611
10:09
Thank you.
217
597196
1177
10:10
(Applause)
218
598397
4285
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Juan Enriquez - FuturistJuan Enriquez thinks and writes about the profound changes that genomics and other life sciences will bring in business, technology, politics and society.
Why you should listen
A broad thinker who studies the intersections of these fields, Enriquez has a talent for bridging disciplines to build a coherent look ahead. He is the managing director of Excel Venture Management, a life sciences VC firm. He recently published (with Steve Gullans) Evolving Ourselves: How Unnatural Selection and Nonrandom Mutation Are Shaping Life on Earth. The book describes a world where humans increasingly shape their environment, themselves and other species.
Enriquez is a member of the board of Synthetic Genomics, which recently introduced the smallest synthetic living cell. Called “JCVI-syn 3.0,” it has 473 genes (about half the previous smallest cell). The organism would die if one of the genes is removed. In other words, this is the minimum genetic instruction set for a living organism.
Juan Enriquez | Speaker | TED.com