Roll Call
By Jason Dick
October 26, 2015
They were two days away.
Reps.
Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., and Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., had a July 12,
2014, meeting scheduled with Speaker John A. Boehner to present the Ohio
Republican with their
immigration reform bill, complete with a whip count, that was ready for
introduction.
But
on July 10, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., lost his primary to
Dave Brat, who ran on a hard-right immigration platform, and the migrant
children crisis on the
Southwest border peaked. After that, “the whip count commitments
evaporated,” according to “Immigration Battle,” a new documentary by
Shari Robertson and Michael Camerini.
Their
film, which caps a 15-year series of immigration documentaries,
premiered earlier this month at the New York Film Festival and is being
broadcast and streamed now
on PBS’ “Frontline.”
As
in their previous “How Democracy Works Now” series, Robertson and
Camerini go behind closed doors with staffers, lawmakers, advocates and
people at town halls. The
candor and access is unprecedented for a congressional documentary and
the result is a portrait of politics on both its biggest stage and its
most intimate ones.
“That
was really hard,” Rep. Luis V. Gutiérrez, D-Ill., says to his staffers
in the car after giving a pep talk to the Service Employees
International Union’s Lobby Day.
He was referring to the difficulty in being optimistic when the path
forward on an immigration overhaul was stuck. “It’s like, what the
f***?” he adds.
“Congressman, you’re their hope, though,” his communications director, Douglas Rivlin, replies.
A
hallmark of the filmmakers’ approach has been keeping the big-picture
moments from overshadowing the small, revealing ones. That was the case
in their first 10 films,
showing the drama of senators maneuvering in a markup, but not
forgetting to show one of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s dogs photobombing the
frame after a tough floor fight in 2007.
This time around, the filmmakers start in the days after the 2012 elections, when the latest push began.
There is Gutiérrez, warning Republicans on the House floor that time is running out for a legislative solution.
They
also show him apologizing for not being as articulate in Spanish (his
second language) to Spanish language media and decrying the efforts of
House Minority Leader
Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to muscle in on his negotiations.
They
show Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., telling a district town hall that
“John Boehner got his job by doing nothing,” a statement in line with
the tea party favorite’s
hard-right reputation.
But
they also reveal Mulvaney as a political realist. He conducts a
different town hall in Spanish — and brings along his teacher to make
sure he doesn’t make too many
mistakes.
He tells yet another town hall that the avowed xenophobia in the GOP needs to stop.
“We
need to stop celebrating the absurd of our party. And stop rewarding
the outrageous and the stupid. We’re writing off too many people,” he
says to a markedly quiet
audience.
“Immigration
Battle” tracks whispered strategy sessions at Trattoria Alberto on
Barracks Row and soaring White House speeches by President Barack Obama.
It follows the
personal musings of people in power, as well as the staffs that make
their work possible.
It
ends on a somber note, as the latest push failed, just like previous
efforts. What’s more, “There’s another election next year,” Robertson
says in the voice-over.
Regarding
that election, the Republican presidential primary in particular has
shown much of the hyperbole on immigration Mulvaney had decried.
But
for those looking for a more nuanced view of the issue, there is this
master class on the topic, “How Democracy Works Now” and its fitting
conclusion, “Immigration
Battle.”
According to Robertson, the fight over immigration isn’t likely to be over any time soon, she told Roll Call.
“It’s too close to who we are. We’re a nation of immigrants,” she said.
She
added that they were comfortable with their decision to move on to
other topics, because when it came to immigration policy in Congress,
“we said everything we needed.
… That’s a good place to be.”
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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