On May 1st, May Day, immigration rallies were held throughout the nation. The World's Jason Margolis attended one in Fresno, the heart of California's San Joaquin Valley. This video was produced by Loren Mendell. A longer video will be coming on PBS's Frontline World later in the summer.
Most every immigrant who crosses illegally from Mexico has a similar story: a treacherous cross through the desert with the help of a "coyote," or smuggler.
Esteban Lopez first crossed through the Arizona desert nine years ago before he made his way to the California farm fields. Food and water were scarce. They had to drink water alongside cows during the long walk. Lopez has done the crossing twice. Three years ago, he went back to Mexico to visit family. He came back through the Arizona desert with his wife and three children, including a one-and-a-half year old daughter.
The farming community of Tooleville consists of little more than two streets of dilapidated houses and trailers. The town has no sidewalks, no parks, and for more than a decade no clean water. One of the residents I spoke with, Eunice Martinez, herself a U.S. citizen originally from Mexico, said when she's desperate and can't get bottled drinking water, she has to drink the polluted water.
