Newsone PolitickerOne
NewsOne Featured Video
CLOSE

NewsOne’s PolitickerOne blog tackles some of the most important topics in politics: Election 2016, moves by the Obama administration, voting rights, lawmaking, and the way that elected officials represent our communities. Three times a week, we will go beyond the mainstream media’s “pack” coverage of politics to highlight the underreported aspects of how politics and policy affect you and the people you care about. In between, follow the conversation on Twitter at #PolitickerOne.

“11 Million Stories: The Truth of Mass Deportation,” an online video released Thursday, tells the powerful story of what would happen if Republican Presidential front-runner Donald Trump‘s mass deportation plan becomes law.

The six-part series was directed by Paola Mendoza and executive produced by Michael Skolnik, editor-in-chief of Global Grind, whose parent company is InteractiveOne, which owns NewsOne. Six undocumented immigrants are profiled in each episode, which “shines a light on the ugly truth of mass deportation,” according to a statement released with the video:

Sofie Cruz tells the story of how her family would be ripped apart. Heriberto talks about the devastation of the agriculture industry. Hina explains how horrible the police state would become and Michelle makes us look back at our history imploring us not to make the same mistakes again.

So important is the issue that the video received over 18,000 views within three hours after it was posted on Facebook by FWD.us, a bipartisan advocacy group founded by Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and other leaders in the tech community in order to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

Mendoza told NewsOne the team was pleasantly surprised by the response, saying they came up with the idea as a result of the national discussion about the deportation of undocumented people in the U.S.

“A lot of different politicians are talking about mass deportation, or not saying anything about mass deportation,” she said. “In this case, silence is just as bad. But the majority of Americans do not want mass deportation.”

“We know the horrific reality of it,” Mendoza said. “We understand the $600 billion in costs to mass deport 11.3 million people. We understand that tearing people apart, tearing families apart, is not the American way. And we understand that we don’t want to live in a police state. I think that sometimes hate speaks louder than love and acceptance.”

She added that supporters of mass deportation represent a small fraction of the population in the U.S. The answer to solving the problem of undocumented workers in the U.S. is through immigration reform, Mendoza said.

“The videos are part of a conversation around policies Donald Trump and various others have put forth,” she said, “If we are against mass deportation, then the only other option is immigration reform to help deal with the 11.3 million undocumented people in this country. That’s why these videos are relevant and important today.”

Watch the video here:

 

VIDEO CREDIT: Facebook | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty

SEE ALSO:

“That Happened On My Watch:” Rahm Emanuel Apologizes For Laquan McDonald Shooting As Calls For His Resignation Intensify