East of Salinas

The agricultural fields of Salinas, CA, are best remembered as John Steinbeck country, the setting for his classic 1952 novel East of Eden. Now, Salinas provides work and a tenuous existence to undocumented migrant workers who toil picking lettuce, eking out a meager living for their families. This Independent Lens documentary, directed by Laura Pacheco and Jackie Mow, examines the plight of these immigrant families. For the parents, working in the fields involves backbreaking labor while sweating under a hot sun. For the children, daily life means attending multiple schools and enduring absences when one of the parents must relocate for work. And hanging over everything is the ever present threat of deportation. East of Salinas focuses on an elementary school teacher, himself the product of a Mexican immigrant upbringing, who tries to guide and inspire students facing challenges that include hunger and a lack of exposure to the greater world outside, often due to their parents' fear of letting them roam outside because of gang activity and violence. Due to financial strains, families will often move on short notice, causing familiar faces to disappear from the classroom, and even if a student is motivated in school, the follow-up of college or good employment opportunities are not guaranteed because of their lack of citizenship. With two million undocumented children in the U.S. today, this documentary offers a timely and poignant look at a national crisis that continues to defy easy solutions. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (S. Rees)