Voices In Exile: Immigrants And The First Amendment

Do immigrants have the same right of free speech as citizens under the U.S. Constitution? One would think so, but the question was put to the test beginning January 1987 when seven Palestinians and a Kenyan were arrested in Los Angeles for distributing "subversive" literature. Hosted by pop disc jockey Casey Kasem, this intriguing documentary follows the story of the "L.A. Eight" from their arrest through two years of court cases. Initially held without bail in maximum security for three weeks, the plight of the activists for Palestinian liberation quickly garnered the attention of the press. While immigration officials tried to get a quick judgment for deportation under the anti-communist provision of the 1952 McCarran-Walter Immigration Act, disturbing evidence began to crop up: in particular, Vice President Bush's Task Force on Terrorism plan for mass internment of Arabs in America. Voices In Exile chronicles the personal hardships the eight defendants endured, the shifting tactics of the government in its efforts to deport the eight, and the eventual involvement of the ACLU and Center for Constitutional Rights which resulted in a landmark court case some two years after the original arrest. Provocative and revealing, the award-winning Voices in Exile is an excellent documentary about the continuously challenged First Amendment. Highly recommended. (Available from: Olive Branch Productions, 1511 Sawtelle Blvd., Suite 265, Los Angeles, CA 90025.)