via Voxxi

Axel Caballero says efforts to pass an immigration reform bill in recent years have stalled as a result of the anti-immigrant rhetoric and the negative perceptions of undocumented immigrants.

Caballero said that instead of moving forward with a sensible solution to fix the nation’s broken immigration system, there’s been a recent wave of harsh enforcement tactics.

These tactics, he said, have led to a record number of deportations, the separation of families, the exploitation of undocumented workers and the unjust treatment of unauthorized immigrants.

“We’re sick and tired of the anti-immigrant rhetoric,” he told VOXXI. “It’s loud, it’s noisy and it’s really not helping anyone.”

Campaign rejects hate against undocumented immigrants

The 33-year-old filmmaker is on a mission to “deport” the negative attitudes and hate some Americans have against undocumented immigrants. He also wants to expose what’s fueling the anti-immigrant sentiment and who is being affected by it.

Caballero plans to do so through an online campaign titled “Deport Hate.”

The campaign, launched this month, consists of a series of documentaries. The first documentary was released last week. It touches on “five ways anti-immigrant hate makes its way into media and policy.”

Caballero said that more importantly, the campaign is meant to change the conversation on immigration and promote a positive dialogue on immigration reform.

“Through ‘Deport Hate,’ we want to influence people to get out of the mentality of hate against immigrants and into the mentality that the future is better with the passage of immigration reform,” he told VOXXI.

When asked about the name of the campaign, Caballero said it came from the idea of wanting to “deport” the hateful and anti-immigrant rhetoric instead of undocumented immigrants.

The “Deport Hate” campaign is one of the recent documentary projects that have surfaced as momentum grows for immigration reform.

“The Dream is Now“ is another recent immigration-related documentary. It touches on the struggles undocumented youth face and how their future hinges on legislation that would legalize their status. The 30-minute documentary premiered Sunday on MSNBC and is now available online.

Cuéntame: The ‘Sunday table’ for Latinos

The “Deport Hate” campaign is also part of the non-profit organization dubbed Cuéntame, which translates into “tell me a story” or “count me in.”

Caballero said he launched Cuéntame as a Facebook page more than two years ago with the idea of providing a space for Latinos to tell their stories and have online conversations.

“We wanted to set up a Latino Sunday table per se where you are with friends, family and abuelita at the table and you’re talking about anything you want,” Caballero told VOXXI.

Through Cuéntame, Caballero said he and his team have produced several campaigns that — like the “Deport Hate” campaign — explore different immigration topics through a series of documentaries. One of their best-known documentaries is titled “Immigrants for Sale,” which explores how private prisons are profiting from the detention of undocumented immigrants.

Cuéntame has now grown to have 106,000 followers on Facebook and nearly a million people have signed up to the group’s email list. The non-profit has also produced about 500 videos and 15 documentary series.