“Farmingville”
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Wolran Kim
July, 2012



Latinos (Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans) now make up a larger percentage of the population than African Americans, with approximately 15 percent versus 12 percent (as of 2008) in the U.S. Today there are increasing numbers of Central American immigrants. The number of illegal immigrants (illegal workers) has reached 12 million in the U.S. The conflict of Farmingville was at zenith enough to lead to violence due to illegal migrant workers. Many undocumented immigrants are on the street everyday to obtain jobs, and the original inhabitants are extremely hostile toward these hordes. Residents argue that migrant workers must be pursued because their comfortable and quiet city has changed into an anxious and unpleasant place with the advent of them.

They say that it is not racism, but their right to defend their peaceful city from illegal invaders who do not guarantee their identity. On the other hand, people in the positions of migrant workers try to find more practical solutions to coexist, such as creating a hiring site system.

The relationship between the Farmingville residents and illegal workers was exacerbated by an accident in which a drunk driver who is an illegal worker killed a resident. This car accident was just an ordinary accident, but this served as a momentum to reveal anti-immigration sentiments. In fact, terrorism and other exposed reasons on the surface do not take part of the very serious anti-immigration sentiment. The biggest problem is the welfare costs for their children, and it is much more staggering than the financial assistance from illegal aliens working for the United States.

Mexican illegal immigrants accounted for 59 percent and this is more than the sum of all illegal immigrants from other countries. The total amount is 80 percent including Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. Since they do not use birth control, the government should increase the welfare budget for all their children. Economic stagnation also goes along with anti-immigration sentiments beyond the legal sanctions to illegal immigrants.

The comic movie, A Day Without a Mexican is a satire that indirectly expresses the influence of Mexicans in the United States. This film includes Mexican’s anger and scathing reflections about this country. The American society becomes covered with confusion when the Mexicans suddenly disappear; chaos begins at the home and moves to the restaurants and cleaning services, and spreads like wildfire across the whole country. California State rushes to emergency break downs, and the American people cannot resolve their necessities of lives.

This movie portrays disabled people as evil-minded and shows that all the Mexicans have finally crossed the border to their country as a thrilling revenge. This is just like Paul Tona’s description: “If we all of a sudden, let’s say tomorrow, could snap our fingers and every Mexican laborer was gone, you’d have no working restaurants, no working diners, no working landscapers, the people who take care of a lot of our children, the people who take care of our sick and elderly?”

Illegal immigrants say that the American government still does not admit that they are dependent on them. The dual contradiction of American capitalism is that they do not want to admit ‘producers,’ but only ‘production.’ Recently, Arizona immigration law containing crackdowns on illegal immigrants was received as an unconstitutional legislation. Double standards in immigration law are often taking advantage of political power.

Farmingville’s story reflects the challenge facing many communities in the Latino population that spreads across the nation farther than any previous wave of immigrants. It also bypasses traditional immigrant gateways and heads directly to the suburbs of the American heartland. We can also see the effort to help demographically-changing communities build bridges between long-term residents and newly arrived immigrant populations, in particular, undocumented Latinos.

They can provide advocates, individuals and community based organization tools for sponsoring educational events and networking opportunities in conjunction for community groups, day laborers, and public, private, and governmental organizations. The concept of ‘human beings’ without advantages of racism or nationalism will serve more thoughtful conversations, innovative solutions, and successful strategies for dealing with these acute issues.