John Leguizamo is doing the rounds to promote his new movie, Chef, which is Jon Favreau’s latest indie labor of love. Leguizamo is one amazing character actor. He chomps on scenery like it’s a delicious delicacy. John has appeared in so many movies, but I think my favorite performance of his is still Tybalt in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet. Sigh.
John sat down with HuffPo and landed himself in a political discussion. This happened in part because of Eric Cantor’s recent congressional loss, so the topic of immigration reform surfaced. John makes the point that Latinos are in demand in Hollywood, and are essential to building the US economy:
Latinos in Hollywood: “You definitely feel like there is some mission statement, ‘Get me that Latin guy, get me some Latin folk.’ But it makes sense, Sofía Vergara broke out of Modern Family because her Latin audience is so hungry to see themselves on screen. When George Lopez and I travel around the country and tour, I mean you’re selling big venues people are paying crazy money to see you because they’re so hungry to hear their stories reflected back, they want to see themselves reflected. Fast & the Furious, that’s why Michelle Rodriguez is in that thing because if you put a couple of Latin characters the thing doubles, triples, quadruples.”
His early career as a Latino: “Everybody was telling me ‘Don’t be Latin,’ ‘Stay out of the sun,’ ‘tell people you’re half-Italian.'”
Does he pay attention to immigration reform? “As much as I can, yea I do. I’m definitely for amnesty, I feel like Latin people and immigrants are the fuel of this country and give you that sort of base — that can do the low wage stuff that can take jobs from China and bring them back here, and keep us productive because we produce nothing and that’s really rough for an economy to stay viable.”
[From HuffPo]
Leguizamo makes some excellent points. Sofia Vergara consciously plays to the “fiery Latino woman” cliché, and she has consistently been the highest paid woman on television for years. She even dyed her naturally blonde hair a darker color to jump start her career. Audiences flock to watch Michelle Rodriguez in the Fast & Furious franchise — producers even brought back her character from the dead!
John is also correct about immigrants being the potential fuel for the economy. I live in a part of the country where a lot of snobbery exists, and some people believe illegal immigrants “steal” jobs from Americans. That belief doesn’t take into account how many jobs are outsourced to other countries like China.
Photos courtesy of WENN
I love him, that is all.
I finally saw Chef this week and he was fantastic. Seriously hilarious.
Ooh, can’t wait to see it!
Definitely see it if you get a chance, goodnames. It took awhile to get to my theater, but it was worth the wait. Very funny, not a lot of drama, and lots of food to salivate over. Eat before you go!
Sooooo good!!! I loved it! I hadn’t even seen a trailer but thought what the hell and I was so happy I did. My face hurt from smiling through the whole thing!
I admit to watching Romeo and Juliet just because of him. Good God, he was HOT. Well, is. That opening scene with his character is everything……his career should be a lot bigger.
I love him too!! My favorite is moulin rouge, and of course Sid the sloth 🙂
He was so cute in To Wong Foo
I LOVED him in that movie!
Yes!! I love him as Sid!!
Mhmmm while illegals aren’t necessarily taking the jobs Americans are willing to do, to imply that illegal immigration is okay is problematic.
Anyway, I’m surprised Hollywood isn’t trying to appeal more to asians. South Korea, China, and Japan bring in more dough than Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico, Spain combined.
I always thought the Asian demographic was largely ignored too. I want the gorgeous model-actor Godfrey Gao (Taiwanese actor who played Magnus Bane in City of Bones) to get more air time.
Takeshi Kaneshiro makes my heart skip a beat.
I saw Tony Leung in Lust, Caution–omg. HOT. That movie is the asian version of ‘Secretary’ for me.
Yeah, I’m actually a bit offended at the implication that it’s snobbery to think illegal immigration isn’t fine and dandy. Besides the fact they’re breaking the law just by being here, illegal immigrants pay no state and federal income taxes yet benefit from programs funded by tax-payer dollars. We also have no way of knowing if a person is a murderer, rapist, or theif if they don’t come to this country by legal channels.
That said, I do love John. He’s a great actor, and I think he did make some valid points about Latinos in entertainment.
Speaking as someone who lives in Texas, I’m calling B.S. on the “illegal immigrants pay no state or federal income taxes yet benefit from programs funded from tax-payer dollars.” They pay them all right, they just don’t get the privilege of filing for a return, because, most likely, they’re working under a false social security number. They also pay property taxes through their rent. Gas taxes. Sales tax. You name it, they pay for it.
I’m not for illegal immigration. I believe they’re breaking the law, and if you’ve been reading or watching the news right now we have a HUGE problem down in the Rio Grande Valley, where people from Central America are sending their kids across (via coyotes) in huge numbers to look for work. There’s been over 30,000 unaccompanied minors who have crossed over this year alone. It’s tremendously sad that people would send their children alone, across a border, with people who will exploit them, simply for the hope of a better life. Something has to be done about it.
But I also know the economy here would not work without Latino labor. People in the ritzy suburb of Austin where I live don’t mow their own lawns. Or paint their houses. Or clean their houses. Or any other bit of menial labor. Latinos do it for them, and then they bitch and moan when they have the temerity to ask for a living wage. This is normal here. And it’s disgusting.
K. I agree. I go back and forth on what should be done, and I think the answer is maybe for America to do more to help the Latin American countries with their economies so there won’t be this desperation for work. The children sent alone to this country with nothing but some small change and a phone number of a relative are exploited, often robbed, raped or killed on their desperate journey. It has to be stopped.
I also agree with you about the hypocrisy. We have determined what a living wage should be by our minimum wage; what it takes to survive. People look the other way when immigrants are paid less than that because they are illegal so they don’t “deserve” fair wages. So we take advantage of them and blame them at the same time for taking jobs away from Americans.
I’m not saying it’s ok for someone to be here illegally, but unless we address the underlying problems of poverty in the home countries, and how we deal with the people once they’re here, I don’t see it getting any better. Or going away.
@Gracie Pray tell which magical programs are UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANTS benefiting from that they haven’t payed for?
What about the super rich that hide all their taxable earning OVERSEAS but demand a BAILOUT when they fail?!?
A quick Google search:
“Undocumented immigrants currently contribute significantly to state and local taxes, collectively paying an estimated $10.6 billion in 2010 with contributions ranging from less than $2 million in Montana to more than $2.2 billion in California. This means these families are likely paying about 6.4 percent on average of their income in state and local taxes.” So, you are in fact WRONG. They contribute BILLIONS into the economy.
http://www.itep.org/immigration/
http://thinkprogress.org/immigration/2014/04/15/3426680/tax-day-undocumented-immigrants-pay-taxes/
Research is your friend.
Where I live, undocumented immigrants are largely paid under the table and file no income taxes. Period. I encounter illegal immigrants everyday in my work, and it’s something I see day in and day out. Are they still paying sales tax? Absolutely, but in avoiding income tax, they are getting a huge tax break that citizens and legal residents do not. I don’t believe that most undocumented people are bad or “moochers,” but allowing them to remain here unpunished sends the message that this behavior is totally okay, and we will only see more and more illegal immigrants until the problem is dealt with because we allow it to happen.
@Gracie I really can’t believe you just said that….This is why I could never moved to USA, bigotry and ignorance everywhere.
I agree that illegal immigration is wrong, it doesn’t matter if you’re immigrating to the USA, France, Sudan or India, but if only the legalization process wasn’t so damn impossible, people wouldn’t be immigrating illegally…
Yeah, I’m calling bs on this too. Undocumented immigrants do pay state and federal taxes even if they work with a fake social, there’s another number that’s assigned to them in order to file their income tax. Someone else here already posted real facts about how much undocumented immigrants contribute to US economy. Beyond that, any undocumented immigrant that even dreams of benefiting of any immigration reform or amnesty, know they HAVE to have years of tax returns filed. There’s no way they can even think of ever qualifying to any of that if they have not filed taxes. So yeah, they do report their income to the IRS, contrary to what people believe. Also, if it bothers you that they get some state assistance to survive and eat and, you know, LIVE, it should bother you more that CORPORATE WELFARE takes up almost double the amount from the fed budget than welfare for the needy does. Get mad about that.
Illegal immigrants can and do file taxes. They get a tax filer ID and are allowed to file. I don’t even know why they do it as most end up owing and not getting a return. As for benefitting from tax payer programs, their children…who are born here and are legal US citizens…qualify for assistance, not the illegal parents. Former DSS worker so I have dealt directly with the Latino population. I am also the child of two formerly illegal Dominican parents who became citizens through amnesty. My parents worked hard in this country.
@ Melymori
The legalization process SHOULD be difficult in any country. I don’t agree with her, but your comment to Gracie was not just hostile, rude and over generalized, it was ridiculous. If things didn’t cost so much, there wouldn’t be stealing. If people weren’t so infuriating, there wouldn’t be murder. If stamps didn’t cost so much, I’d pay my bills. Please. Stay wherever you are.
I work in a hospital in conjunction with a firm that’s contracted to screen uninsured patients for Medicare, Medicaid, and other forms of assistance. There is a checklist of questions that must be asked to determine eligibility for these programs, which includes questions about immigration status and whether the person in question files income taxes. A person can answer that they are not a legal resident and that they work but don’t file taxes and STILL qualify for certain forms of assistance if certain criteria are met. That is where *I* live, and I don’t claim to be an expert on other cities and states but it is something that is common here. Perhaps part of the reason is because I live and work in a sanctuary city with a huge population of poor, illegal immigrants, I don’t know.
Considering the fact that the US is responsible for the awful maquiladoras, the “war” on drugs, and the guns that go down to Mexico which brings horrific violence. IMO,it’s only fair we give amnesty to the people who lives we have ruined with our barbaric and unfair trade policies.
Want to end illegal immigration? Put pressure on elected officials in the US to renegotiate NAFTA, end the war FOR drugs ( cause that’s what it really is), and crack down on illegal gun sales.
Gracie – Don’t worry about the comments, they say it, but have no evidence for the rhetoric and spin of bs, plenty of the us reading know what’s what, no matter how hard the spin.
Just a little story that opened my eyes a little bit, thought I would share:
One of my friends has a home in Mexico. Their neighbors in Mexico are Americans who own a very large grocery store chain in the US. They advertise in Mexico to bring people to the US so they can get cheap labor for their stores. They give them REAL social security numbers, so the US citzen’s social security contributions add up over the years. When the Americans reach retirement age, they get the social security dollars that the Mexican workers earned for them.
When people are undocumented, it allows them to be exploited. I really wish that in the immigration debate, more attention was paid to human trafficking, the sex trade industry, and slave labor. I have heard there are millions of slaves that are in the US now, doing everything from housekeeping to working in massage parlors.
Gracie wrote, “Where I live, undocumented immigrants are largely paid under the table and file no income taxes. Period. …. Are they still paying sales tax? Absolutely, but in avoiding income tax, they are getting a huge tax break that citizens and legal residents do not”
Also keep in mind, their EMPLOYERS are not paying the required payroll taxes when they do this. Not only is the employee skipping out on tax obligation, but so is the employer. Are you as scornful of the employer as the employee?
Not worth it
Well, it takes people being able to afford to pay others to mow their lawns and clean their houses, so to say that one group is the backbone is a little ridiculous. Who affords people the opportunity to hire help? Yea, a different aspect of ‘the economy’, one that pays higher wages and also includes an employment sector. It’s a system and both rely on each other. Also, if illegal immigrants were not here, and there were a ‘shortage’ of labor as a result, well then legal channels open up for immigration-such has been done throughout modern history by countries who needed laborers and/or entrepreneurs. Amnesty b/c we need illegal labor? That’s quite an argument he is making. I’d rather people have worker rights and protections, too, rather than under the table. Whomever commented that ‘they do pay gas and sales taxes and property taxes through paying rent’….LOL. really? Yea, often with section 8 and welfare money each month. That’s not really paying taxes. And, the comment was obviously discussing income taxes, anyway. Besides, I pay rent and that doesn’t count as paying property taxes, just b/c it’s rolled into the rent payment. I support someone’s investment, so that could be considered an argument.
and I also call BS on the line that it isn’t snobbery… americans are the most entitled people – too good to clean houses or garden or do laundry in a hotel etc…etc…. etc…so, who would do all those minimum or less than minimum wage jobs that no one else seems to want to do?
Gracie, I agree with everything you say.
I live in California, and the illegal immigrants have hit this state hard.
The state needs to crack down on illegals and the people that hire them. And no welfare services for illegals, either.
Gracie – couldn’t disagree with what you said more. AND many illegals DO pay taxes specifically to avoid being accused of not paying taxes even though they know they won’t get benefits that us citizen tax payers get. You are allowed to register for Tax ID number, no citizenship required because basically all that number is saying is “i will pay taxes even though I don’t have a social security number”. Majority get this number to be fair , pay back the country and also banking. Even though they could easily not pay anything. Don’t assume anything until you see what’s really going on behind closed doors. Until you’re there with people living it daily. The US also exploits many of the people trying to come to the USA legally on top of everything. $300-$500 visitor visas application fees, and even if you can afford all that you may not even be approved for a visitor visa. That’s just a fee to be able to come for a VISIT. When you start talking about residency or citizenship, price is crazy. Mexico is one of the few countries that has those ridiculous visitor visa fees imposed on them.
How true. To be honest, I do not go running to the theater because John Leguizamo is in the movie.
I like him, and am excited that he seems to be going back to making adult movies with the Pablo Escobar project. I’ve seen him on stage a bunch of times, and he just seems lovely.
At the risk of starting a war, I think he’s right on the immigration point. I live and work in NYC where there’s a lot of migrant labor from Latin America. So many guys I know are here for a couple of years, to work their asses off before going home to set up a life. I think most of them would be happy to be able to do it legally for a couple of years, pay taxes, and have the freedom to come and go home for the duration. I really think that short-term visas for casual labor is the way to go for this country. George W. Bush (of all people), had some great ideas on immigration reform, but by that point, everyone hated him and he couldn’t get anything done.
I agree Fanty.
I’m in the south west and undocumented workers add so much to the economy in terms of labor.
I admit to being biased given my own ethnicity and geographical location.
Yes, they can be a drain on social programming and I have issues with eligibility of said programs for non citizens, but, they also contribute billions of dollars to local economies. Also, until the government goes after major corporations (agriculture/construction) as well as small businesses who do the hiring (as well as advertise in various Latin countries about potential employment), there will NEVER be genuine reform.
Anyhoo, I’ve seen him live several times, I genuinely adore his stand up and can relate to much of it.
I think people have this idea immigrants just come here to mooch off benefits but if we want to get demographic specific without being harsh, the Latin American migrant labor force is harder working I think than most naturalized or born Americans who don’t know how lucky they are. Try getting a 16 year old or current unemployment benefits recipient to work in manual labor on farms and see how much they scoff at it despite claiming to want/need work.
I really wish that, instead of going off getting in the business of nations so far away like Iraq or Ukraine we focused on helping our neighbors a little more.. My hometown just had a huge heroin bust and its pretty much as Mayberry as you can get. The drug flow from Mexico is insane and worse to this country’s day to day life than whatever Putin is playing in Ukraine.
I totally agree with you. As an HR person for a manufacturing company that used to hire illegals (they brought the paperwork, I wasn’t allowed to question it by law or by bosses) our Mexicans (they were all from Mexico, no Latin American people) were some of the hardest working, loyal, family devoted people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Their position is a difficult one. If I could not earn a living here in the US and all I had to do was cross an imaginary line to make a life for myself and family, you better damn well believe I would. These people have legal children here too.
One of the guys was dating/messing around with the American citizen girl at the front desk and they joked about getting married. He told her he would still have to go back to Mexico for three months even if they got married. These people are kept in limbo to exploit them. They are needed here and do work very hard. I can’t tell you how many American citizens (of all nationalities) would come into my place of business and say how much they needed work, only to walk out hours later saying it was too much. Out Latinos would work their ass off and not complain, grateful for a job that paid $10-20 an hour (depending on position).
I wish they could get citizenship and quit being exploited.
They are here for the same thing my Irish ancestors came here for, the American dream.
If it’s anything like the debate on immigration in the UK, practical solutions that would actually ease the situation for everyone will never get any traction. All the participants are so wedded to their points of principle – from whichever angle – that they’d rather everything got worse rather than concede a micrometre to the other side.
I find it all so darn depressing.
That’s exactly what it is here. It’s couched in an all-or-nothing binary, and it’s about ideology. When that’s the case, no practical issues can be resolved. It’s exhausting.
I’ve been reading some horrifying responses to the Ofsted report about Birmingham schools. The immigration debate in England is utterly unpleasant, because it’s so much more obviously xenophobic. But, I also think that so many English are utterly unaware of the necessity of acknowledging the damage done by imperialism, and the role of the Empire in these issues, because it isn’t on their doorstep in the same way that American slavery is.
Yes, yes and yes.
And as to the Birmingham thing – it’s a shame on so many levels, because you cannot believe what ANYONE is saying about it, from warring cabinet ministers through OFSTED to teachers and governors. And intertwined in all that is what I keep saying on the royal threads hereabouts – when you have an established church (thanks to a constitutional monarchy) AND equalities legislation, you have to have faith schools for all denominations because you can’t prefer the CofE. (Predictably, I’m not in favour of any state-funded faith schools, but how on earth do you privatise 50% of your primary schools in one fell swoop?)
Other immigrant communities have found that British education is a better way to improve the next generations of your family than some of the old culture’s ways, and benefited from it. There has to be a CALM and RATIONAL way of enabling this in Birmingham. You know?
Like Leguizamo, Nick Clegg proposed an amnesty for established illegals at one point. He was crucified. Nobody listened for a single second to the actual practicalities of his argument (and I can’t stand Clegg, so hate to stick up for him).
I agree the solution lies somewhere in the murky middle; but that won’t please ideologues on the left as well as the right; and I lean left, but those no shortage of dogmatism and inflexibility on that side too; and yes George Bush did have some ideas on immigration, but people couldn’t see past their own biases. Reagan also supported guest worker programs – try telling that to a tea partier.
He makes quite few valid points and he was one of my favorite parts of that Romeo & Juliette. On the totally superficial, I do wish he would wear a suit that fits properly because that is a fine looking 49 year old man.
The odd thing about him is, that he always implies that he is Puerto Rican. His father said that he is Colombian and doesn’t understand why he implies otherwise.
Ever since the 90’s when he was doing his one man, stand up comedy shows like “Spic-O-Rama” he;s always acknowledged his Colombian heritage. At least I knew about his Colombian heritage since way back then.
Love him!
And this immigration thing is such a mess. Seriously. There are illegals here who pay taxes, have productive jobs and families – they’ve been here for a very long time. And there’s no process for making them legal now. That’s got to change.
I live in an agricultural area and beginning a couple of years ago, crops were rotting in the fields because the migrant farmers weren’t being allowed to come into the country. These are jobs that pay above minimum wage, but are manual labor jobs. And the farmers couldn’t find Americans willing to do them. Mind you this was in the height of the recession, as well.
And all that said… Immigration isn’t just a “brown” problem – although many would like you to believe that. There are many, many illegals from all over the world. Most travel to the US on legit visas and just never leave. Illegal immigration looks very different than the propaganda suggests.
I have a cousin who is an illegal immigrant because his two timing mom left my Uncle in Egypt and brought my cousin here when he was 4. He no longer speaks Arabic fluently, cant work legally here even though he has a degree in Marketing now, and if he goes back to Egypt he might not be able to come back here. So he’s a non-Latin example of how the Dream Act could help people. I’m pretty conservative politically but I see no way around immigration reform in this country because that system has been broken for too long.
The operative word is propaganda. When the economy sucks the lifeblood out of its people, who better to blame than the absolute lowest rung economically? It’s another example of wagging the dog (while kicking it). Look over there, pay no attention to corporate welfare and excessive salaries and benefits at the top, it’s the brown guy’s fault.
Should they be entering illegally? Not necessarily, but they arrived out of desperation like most immigrants before them. And the point is that they are already here: Some for a few generations, while contributing to the economy.
Agree with everything you said.
Yep to all of it. I’m an immigrant myself, and on more than one occasion, I have had the misfortune to be at an event with people who have railed against allowing immigrants into the country, and twice, once I’ve pointed out that I’m an immigrant myself, the person has responded by saying that they don’t mean people like me. It’s disgusting, and I agree that it’s brainwashing propaganda.
ALL OF THIS
Yes!!!
ETA (except not really, because I can’t go back in to my post): if you look at the problem in economic terms, it’s simple (although I recognize that I’m doing this without stats). Most immigrants enter illegally in order to work, because there’ s more opportunities to make more money here. Paying taxes enriches the state and enables people here to contribute to the benefits they have here. It’s a win-win situation, and is kind of the whole point of America. I really believe that most of the problem lies in the unwillingness to give up white privilege – or even to recognize that’s what it is.
@T.Fanty, Also, having the immigrants remain illegal is lucrative to those who hire them. It makes it easier to pay a substandard unlivable wage without regard to employment/labor laws.
Good points, Kiddo (as usual!)
🙂
Kudos to Kiddo!
Actually the statistics I’ve read are that 40-45 per cent simply overstayed their visas. Strictly speaking they came her legally.
Yep–I have a Mexican aunt who came here twenty years ago. She and her husband had a tourist visa, they went to California–where they had family, and just didn’t go back home.
And what’s really weird is that her daughter was a year old when they came to America–so she was actually an illegal immigrant for twenty years, before she became a citizen….but she went to school, etc.
In Florida, in the fern business, Americans aren’t the ones willing to do that low-paying,seasonal, manual labor job. It’s the Latinos from Mexico, illegal or immigrated from Mexico, that make up the majority of the workforce. Over the years when I’ve used maid services when I used to work long hours, I would say the majority have been Latino. We have a pretty big Latino population here in Florida in certain areas of Florida especially.
I don’t lke him. I get he’s proud of his ethnicity (so am I), but more than a few times he’s crossed the line into racism. You can praise your heritage without belittling and insulting anothers.
Even worse. Saw his stand up and it became awkward when he started insulting the mostly causasian audience for not getting his latin jokes he was telling in spanish.
Still, a point is made here. America needs to appeal to more than blacks and whites.
I’m not a huge fan of his, but he does offer some valid points.
I’ve disliked him since I saw his stand-up, too. We paid “crazy money” to see his show and he spent the whole time testing brand new material and talking about his feelings on Hunter S. Thompson. He was finally booed off the stage by the largely Latin audience.
Coincidentally, I saw George Lopez that same month. He threw major shade Leguizamo’s way by saying that he only tests new material at clubs for free. When people are paying a lot of money to see you at a large menu, the audience deserves your best stuff.
I love George, and he is hysterical in his live act. I had a headache from laughing so much.
“America needs to appeal to more than blacks and whites.” Since when did America try to appeal to Black people? The standard of beauty is still a thin, blonde blue eyed white woman. Has that changed and I wasn’t aware of it.
RIGHT?
WHERE is this wonderful dimension wherein the USA gives a dry roasted frick about about the people who BUILT its wealth?
America is still about white people, first and foremost, but the truth is that blacks get more representation that any other minority in Hollywood, Which is sad considering it’s still not that much. It would be nice to see them try to get other minorities in films/television too. These days diversity to Hollywood mean a largly white cast with a few African Americans and it’s “yay diversity!!”. You might have a few Asians, Hispanics etc but not that often. We have had quite a few wonderful films/biopics about amazing achievements/stories with incredible black actors that get oscar recognition (12 years a slave, Ray, the help to name a few) it would be wonderful to see films be made about historic figures of other races too. 12 years a slave especially was so fantastic, and makes me wish for stories that show the life and struggles of other minorites that I KNOW are out there? A film of the life of Cesar Chavez was released recently with nearly ZERO promotion. No one cared. It made me feel pretty bad actually.
@Aly Saying that Black people “get more representation than any other minority in Hollywood” is completely different from “America needs to appeal to more than blacks and whites.” To me the latter statement is not accurate at all. There are movies about historic Latinos/Hispanics: Frida Kahlo, Che Guevara,Ritchie Valens,and Miguel Pinero. These movies exist.
@finger binger- I’m not saying that these movies don’t exist. And my whole point was I’m not just talking about Black or Hispanic or any one race. The films you named are about the only ones I can think of that are about Hispanic figures and none them had any real promotion. Hell, nobody wanted to do CHE, but soderberg was set on seeing it done.
I love seeing movies like 12 years a slave or the new Miles Davis happening. They SHOULD be made, but it’s important for Hollywood to step up and make some films depicting historical events/persons of all races. I can’t even think of a film that featured native Americans without a white guy being the hero, and that pisses me off.
Considering how little blacks are represented in movies and TV, I agree.
Since when does America care about black people though? When have they ever. About the speaking a different language that’s a huge downfall on the US because most other big Countries teach their kids to speak/write in several languages for many years of their schooling but you will still hear idiots scream English only.
On a side note, Chef is a great movie!
Summer of Sam. He was amazing.
He’s right on a few points. I feel that anyone and everyone should have to enter this country legally, though, regardless of heritage.
First let me state that I am not against Immigration but I am against a group or groups of people who think it fine to break the laws of a country not their own by simply crossing illegally across their borders. I know a lot of you think that this hurts no one and that they add to the economy but they also hurt the economy when they send their dollars home and make such low wages that they have to get public assistance to survive. Also I was a victim of an illegal using my social security number a few years back and it was no easy task to get it all straight. It took me months. Was I pissed? You bet. Does that color my feelings on this situation? Yes. Because in order to work here and add to the local economy they need to cheat by stealing social security numbers and so on and so forth. This should not be a hard thing. Every other nation on earth has immigration laws that are strictly enforced as should we.
Whoa. Lot to unpack here.
He will always be Chi-Chi Rodriguez to me.
If the UNITED STATES granted legal status to the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants currently living here they would then legally send for their dependents, so the real number would likely skyrocket to between 40-50 million.
I live in NJ. We have a large population of Latinos and from what I have experienced over the years, they are extremely hard workers and the backbone of the service industry. However, we are fortunately seeing so many more sitting in honors classes as well as colleges. From what I have observed, they have an amazingly strong family unit and desire for success. I get the whole “illegal” thing being “wrong”, but do you all realize that if we subtract the Latinos, legal AND illegal from our current population, we would have a downward spiral in population? Speaking as a descendant from highly illegal Irish immigrants, I look at it this way…do what you can to get here for a better life, but be dam* well sure you make that better life and contribute positively. Overall, they ARE.
I’m in South Jersey. I’m assuming you are too, because that’s where we have a large farming community and a large number of immigrants working those farms.
I’m in Central Jersey–Princeton area. We do have some local farms (not as many as you) with immigrant workers as well as many who run thriving landscaping, cleaning, auto mechanic, and car wash businesses.
I went to mortuary school in West Windsor. My husband has a business outside of Vineland, which has a huge population of migrant workers. We wouldn’t have such a thriving farming community if it weren’t for them.
I guess it depends on where you live, then. Not everyone from the same ethnic group can be painted with the same brush, as far as ethics, value placed one education and desire for success. And not all people from a given group contribute positively to their geographical location/community. Just sayin’. This is across the board among groups….not latinos/as specifically.
I can’t really speak to it depends on where you live, because I’ve only lived in NJ my whole life. However, there are certainly trends in certain areas of the country. I can also give my opinions based on my observations of living here since my birth. IMO, the trend in NJ is a positive one. Our governor, who is not a favorite of mine by the way, has had the chance time and time again to squash “illegals” and he has gone on the record acknowledging their importance to the local economy and contributions towards communities.
Don’t care for the guy,I agree with another comment that he comes off as racist and people like him are part of the problem. My grandparents are immigrants but they followed the laws and abided by US law. Has anyone here attempted to live in Mexico without papers?
People forget the purpose of immigration LAW. It is to protect the US citizen. In this day and age of terrorism,porous borders pose security risks and also health risks. The US has finite resources to care for its own citizens and if undocumented people flood the borders by the tens of thousands,like now,then that in turn moves resources from the US citizen to someone who is in the country illegally. All of these additional,unplanned undocumented arrivals tax the healthcare system and education systems….especially those who live on the border. Talk to a healthcare provider in a border state.
While that is true to some degree, people are here, you are never going to remove all and many have been here for generations. The answer is to document them and give them status so that they are contributing to all of the things that you mention. You can’t turn back the tide.
Reagan granted amnesty in the 80’s and what did that solve? First secure the border, enforce current immigration laws and then we can talk about amnesty.
Obama has been one of the toughest on enforcing immigrant laws. Do a search.
Yo, illegal immigration, I’m really happy for you, and Imma let you finish, but “Romeo + Juliet” was the best soundtrack of all time.
Haha nice
I liked him in Groomsmen, Ed Burns bro-fest with the late/great Brittany Murphy.
He was great in Chef!
I’ve seen him in a few things and was wondering if he was Tybalt in Romeo & Juliet. 😀 he’s awesome.
The more things change, the more they stay the same?
Prior to 1890, the individual states (rather than the Federal government) regulated immigration into the United States….
First and second class passengers who arrived in New York Harbor were not required to undergo the inspection process at Ellis Island. Instead, these passengers underwent a cursory inspection aboard ship; the theory being that if a person could afford to purchase a first or second class ticket, they were less likely to become a public charge in America due to medical or legal reasons. The Federal government felt that these more affluent passengers would not end up in institutions, hospitals or become a burden to the state. However, first and second class passengers were sent to Ellis Island for further inspection if they were sick or had legal problems.
This scenario was far different for “steerage” or third class passengers. These immigrants traveled in crowded and often unsanitary conditions near the bottom of steamships with few amenities, often spending up to two weeks seasick in their bunks during rough Atlantic Ocean crossings. Upon arrival in New York City, ships would dock at the Hudson or East River piers. First and second class passengers would disembark, pass through Customs at the piers and were free to enter the United States. The steerage and third class passengers were transported from the pier by ferry or barge to Ellis Island where everyone would undergo a medical and legal inspection.
http://www.ellisisland.org/genealogy/ellis_island_history.asp
Good post you said what I was going to say; Columnist Kristen powers had a fine article in USA today awhile ago pointing out that all the rules and regulations and bureaucracy that has been created in our legalistic state didn’t exist in the time period you reference. Immigration was fairly straightforward – no one had to prove they spoke English, because most didn’t.
To become a citizen today is much harder and more expensive. The immigrants that you mention didn’t need lawyers.
Americans of today don’t realize how relatively easy it was to become a citizen in that time period, all things considered.
That’s part of my point. But the other is that money ALWAYS did a cakewalk,
America was built on the backs of immigrants, funny how so many seem to forget that. I’ve personally felt the sting of being a “foreigner” when my family (legally) moved to this country when I was a child. Made fun of because of my culture and ethnicity while my parents worked menial jobs to keep our family afloat because the degrees they earned back home was not good enough for this country. So they scrimped and saved and did jobs that no one wanted until they could get better – never once even considering public assistance or any of the other programs that a lot of Americans (of all races) abuse on a daily basis. I may step on some toes here but how can people say there are no jobs and then say the “illegals” like someone else said are stealing all of the jobs? Most of the time the jobs that they do are the jobs you think you’re too good for.
I don’t think the issue is with immigrants as a whole, but those who are breaking the law to arrive, and remain, in the country. Yes, it’s true that a lot of these folks end up doing jobs that citizens won’t, but while they are toiling away, they’re also diverting money and resources that should, having been collected from taxpaying citizens, be earmarked for those who ARE NOT breaking any laws. I think about all the children who go to substandard schools, who live in substandard housing, who don’t have enough to eat, who have no clear way to a productive and successful adulthood because they simply cannot receive any help, and it’s infuriating to think about all the money that goes toward rounding up illegal immigrants (paying people to track them down, transport them, police porous areas along the borders, all the paperwork, etc.) and how much more usefully that money could be spent on people whose very presence is not attributable to them having broken the law by simply arriving.
I’ve been a big fan of his since the 90s. I do think that Hollywood is very racist. Over the last few years films with all black cast (non-slavery) have done really well but you don’t see Hollywood in any rush to make more. Asians get ignored. And Asian men are always pigeonholed holed into the guy who will never get the girl. And yes Latinos also have there own stereotypes. Sofia was really good one the first season of MF but then went way too over the top with the next few seasons. /end rant
Anyway, I love “Too Wong Foo.”
Hollywood doesn’t want to appeal to a bigger audience. They don’t want the billions they’d earn if they’d hire more Asian actors and actresses.
Hollywood is about one thing only: Uphold white supremacy. It has always been about that.
They’re not stupid. They know Asia is a big market but they don’t give a f*ck because they don’t want the money. Hollywood is a big propaganda machine.
“Sofia Vergara consciously plays to the “fiery Latino woman” cliché, and she has consistently been the highest paid woman on television for years.”
You’re right, she plays a cliché. I’m half Latina and I have not run into one person who behaves as stereotypically as Sophia. She’s playing out a stereotype (much like Charro). It’s how certain people of other races expect a Latino woman to act and it bugs the crap out of me. I don’t think she’s so well paid because Latinos want to see Latino woman in media (as John says). I believe it’s the American public, in general, that enjoys her impression of the one dimensional fiery Latina sex pot.
I don’t disagree, but to be fair, EVERYONE on Modern Family is playing an over-the-top stereotype of one sort or another.
I’m speaking to the fact that Sofia plays it up in interviews and TV appearances. Her “accent” and mannerisms have become more exaggerated. She’s marketing herself as a stereotypical Latina woman, not just playing one on modern family.
Okay, I don’t believe I have seen her being interviewed.
This is absolutely true. Everything stereotypical has to be incorporated into the character and it just gets relentless. Same goes for the sassy, finger-snapping, eye-rolling, babymama black woman, or the nerdy, shy, broken-English-speaking, computer geek Asian guy, or the flamboyant, spitfire, lisping gay guy. There’s no way these characteristics are being played up for the benefit of their respective “communities”; it’s all about appeasing the Hollywood standard that says only straight, white characters can have more than one dimension.
What John Leguizamo and most people who migrate to America fail to mention or get voluntary amnesia about when complaining about any factor or faction of America is that, Canada and America is the only English speaking countries in the Western Hemisphere, they are bordered by latino countries who speak Spanish. People need to stop using the lame excuse to illegally enter the US. America is a land of immigrants, every country is a land of immigrants and all countries are sovereign and have immigration laws. Americans like the people of any other country , their indigenous people have the right of self-determination, not people from other countries coming in and telling them what to do because millions decide they are going to be lawbreakers. The people that migrate to America are not slaves like African Americans were or indentured servants like the Irish. Most get low paying jobs and many children to suck on government assistance of the American tax payers, but they contracted do do just that, because of their illegal status, they have free will and can pick up and go back to their mother countries and or top carping.
The ‘indigenous’ people of the USA were not English-speaking people, FWIW. The ‘English’ stems from England.
Secondly, someone is hiring the immigrants. Someone with MONEY. Someone who is not paying taxes on people who work here.
I have worked with a lot of immigrants of varying legal status, and I have to say I am so thankful to have known many of these people. That aren’t all amazing, but some of them really, really are.
I am thankful to have a thriving immigrant culture where I live. They bring a lot to my life and to my community. I share a bit of my culture with them, and they share a bit of their culture and perspective with me and I am better for it.
He’s hot. I’ve had a crush on him for over 20 years.
As an immigrant to the US, I have no problem with immigration. I do have a very big problem with illegal immigration. I had to dot my i’s and cross my t’s and jump through every legal hoop to be here, stay here, and become a citizen. I didn’t take any shortcuts and either should anyone else.
Agree 100%. Always lost in the debate about illegal immigration is the fact that there are plenty who do go the legal route as people should, and seemingly to no avail when there are folks pushing for the idea of “if you’ve been here long enough illegally, we should just go ahead and grant you citizenship” (what other crime can one continuously commit, to the extent that someone simply decides to suddenly declare them a non-lawbreaker??). There is a point to immigration laws, and if people find them too cumbersome or objectionable, the other option is to simply not immigrate.
Yup, same here.
If Americans will tolerate working at Wal-Mart or working as an adult in fast-food to earn a living…There really is no job Americans won’t do. Americans were doing all the “won’t do” jobs before an influx of desperate people who were willing to work for even less money arrived. It’s a myth that there are jobs Americans won’t do,especially since the housing bubble, global credit crunch, and great recession. American citizens are experiencing long term unemployment and economic insecurity. How do we magically have “opportunity” for illegals?
Having said that there are many illegals, Wwhites, Africans,Caribbean, Middle eastern, European, Asian, Indian and yes, Latino. None of them WANT to work low wage jobs but they will so that their children don’t have to and they can compete with the next generation for the good jobs. They don’t intend their children to work the so-called ” Americans won’t work ” jobs
I like Leguizamo and totally agree that Hollywood will have to change what it reflects in film. Audiences are diverse enough that they won’t accept being only the useful sidekick in a film and they will require affirmation of other types of beauty along with blond big boobs flat booty beauty. I don’t wish to knock this kind of beauty but it’s unacceptable to perpetuate imagery that makes girls unable to appreciate dark hair dark eyes and big butts when a big part of the world’s population looks this way, beautifully.
Haven’t seen him in a film in a very long time. Can’t wait to see CHEF.
careful John…america doesn’t like it’s minorities to love themselves