The Long Ride Trailer

"A memento of an important episode in the struggle for immigrant rights, this is recommended."

                                                                                             -Video Librarian

"In Valerie Lapin’s documentary film “The Long Ride,” we see immigrants as what most of them are: people seeking a better way of life."

                                                                                                  -San Francisco Chronicle

"The weaving of the many stories told by those who took part in the ride provides a unique, passionate and powerful lens via which to view the present state of our country’s immigration debate."

                                                                                            - Aldo Bello, Festival Director

                                                                                               Immigration Film Fest

“This important and exciting film shows the power of social movements for immigrant rights, civil rights, and labor rights joining together to fight for the human rights of immigrant workers in the U.S."

                                                                                             - Risa Lieberwitz, Professor

                                                                                                Labor Relations, Law & History

                                                                                                Cornell University

The Long Ride is a timely award-winning 77 minute documentary about the historic 2003 Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride which sparked the new Civil Rights Movement for immigrant workers in the United States. Alarmed by the increase in deportations, family separation, and workplace abuses, more than 900 immigrants and allies traveled from ten cities across America to focus public attention on the plight of immigrant workers and call for reform of the broken immigration system. They were inspired by the 1961 Civil Rights Movement Freedom Riders who risked their lives fighting to end segregation. The film chronicles their journey and the on-going fight for immigrant rights to this day.  

Some Riders risked arrest and deportation by merely participating in the Ride.  Nevertheless, they bravely spoke publicly about their immigration experiences and the difficulties they face in their adopted homeland.  The Riders confronted the immigration system head-on while demonstrating at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, and were met by angry, anti-immigrant counter-protestors.  They faced their inner most fears when they learned the fate of their fellow Riders traveling from Los Angeles who were detained by Border Patrol officers.

The Freedom Riders delivered their message to Washington law makers, and were joined by 1961 Freedom Rider and Civil Rights icon Congressman John Lewis who told them,  "You’re so inspiring to see all of you riding across America.  We will not be at peace until immigrant workers are treated like all other human beings.  You have a right to be treated with dignity."  

The Ride culminated with a 100,000 person strong immigrant rights rally.  At the time, it was the largest such event in history.  

During the Ride, the Riders shared their personal stories; became leaders in a cause greater than themselves -- the struggle to improve the lives of all workers -- and experienced the transformative power of going from living in the shadows in fear to speaking their minds and finding strength in collective action.  They learned that it may take a lifetime to accomplish their goals, but they also found the courage to fight for change.

Through their efforts, the Freedom Riders created better understanding of immigrants and their experiences; built bridges among people of different backgrounds; launched Comprehensive Immigration Reform legislation; and demonstrated how we can join together to not only expand immigrant rights but to protect workplace rights, civil liberties and human rights for us all. 

Some of the people we meet in The Long Ride include: 

Angelina joined the Ride three months after her son, Esteban, a legal immigrant, was arrested for a traffic infraction. He was denied his medication and died while he was in custody.  Angelina, still in mourning, joins the Ride so her son’s death will not be in vain and finds solace in the determination of her fellow Riders. 

Meheret escaped from the violence following the Revolution in Ethiopia in 1977.  Her mother had been killed and her father was a political prisoner.  She was granted political asylum in the U.S.  As a massage therapist, she is alarmed by how poorly management treats the spa workers.  Many suffer from on-the-job injuries, but are not provided with health benefits.  Meheret is leading an effort to organize a union.  Management is retaliating with an anti-union campaign.  A union activist was fired, and some immigrants were so scared that they would be deported that they left work and disappeared.

Rigo came to the U.S. from Mexico when he was two years old.  When he was a child, he and his family picked grapes toiling in the hot sun without water, shade or bathrooms.  Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta became his heroes when they organized the United Farm Workers Union to improve working conditions.  Rigo followed in their footsteps and became a union organizer.  During the Ride, he realizes he must become a citizen to gain greater rights.  Two years later, he took the oath of citizenship. He campaigned to elect President Obama and California Governor Jerry Brown.  In 2013, in an act of non-violent civil disobedience, Rigo was arrested while blocking traffic at the U.S. Capitol during a demonstration against Congressional leaders who were blocking passage of comprehensive immigration reform.  Today, Rigo fights for the rights of low-wage pharmacy and Wal-Mart workers.

Marta, a Brazilian, entered the U.S. on a work visa.  But it was revoked when she was laid off from her job during the Silicon Valley 2001 Dot Com Bust.  She nearly lost her family too.  She and her partner, Leslie, live in constant fear that Marta could be deported because as a same-sex couple, they are denied recognition of their relationship for immigration purposes.  Marta was eventually granted asylum.  But it can be revoked at any time.  The estimated wait time for a green card, which would allow her to work, is 12 years.  After the Ride, same sex marriage was legalized. Marta and Leslie got married, and Marta became a U.S. citizen.

Eunice grew up in Maricopa County, Arizona. When she was a child, her Korean-born father was spit on while they were shopping at a mall. When two high school friends were deported, Eunice decided to commit her life to fighting for justice for immigrants. During the Ride, the motor coaches are transformed into “school buses,” mobile classrooms where Eunice teaches lessons on immigration and civil rights history. After the Ride, Eunice became an immigrant rights attorney and testified before the California Legislature in support of bills to criminalize retaliation against immigrant workers who speak out about unfair working conditions and the use of deportation threats to get away with wage theft. The bills were enacted into law. 

“I am not an artist who became an activist, I am an activist who became an artist.” 

                                                        - Harry Belafonte

                                                           Activist/Actor/Singer/Songwriter

                                                           upon receiving the Academy of Motion Picture Arts

                                                           and Sciences Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award  

I have been making documentaries since my early twenties, but I’ve been an activist even longer. I participated in my first political action when I was 11-years old riding in a bike-a-thon through the smoggy streets of Los Angeles in support of extension of the Clean Air Act. I’ve worked on presidential campaigns and as a Capitol Hill Legislative Aide. I’ve sat-in hotel lobbies and in the street and gotten arrested standing up for workers rights.  It is through this work that I am not only informed, but also inspired to make films. 

At the time that the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride was launched, I was working with the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Union, Local 2 in San Francisco, and I was asked to be a Freedom Rider.  My role was to document the experiences of my fellow Freedom Riders traveling across the country from Northern California. 

​As we rode from town to town and I met many immigrants, I often thought of my beloved Grandpa David. When he was thirteen years old, shortly after his bar mitzvah, he fled from religious persecution in Russia. He never saw his parents again.  He crossed the Atlantic Ocean and passed through Ellis Island. He served as a medic during WWI and later became a pharmacist.  He dispensed medicine during the Depression, literally giving away the store.  His two children went to college.  My Uncle Danny earned a Ph.D., and set up water systems in places like Bangladesh.  My mom became a teacher and later owned a travel agency with my father.  My Grandpa David cherished his freedom, was staunchly patriotic, and he was proud to be an American citizen.  Many of the Freedom Riders reminded me of my Grandpa David. 

I was honored and humbled to join the other Freedom Riders. I was awed by their strength, courage, intelligence and determination. I’ve carry the lessons of the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride with me to this day and try to live by its principles everyday: to treat people with respect. I continue to find inspiration from my fellow Freedom Riders who toil in the hard work of social justice organizing everyday. 

After the Ride, I continued working in the labor movement with hotel workers and truck drivers.  Most of them are immigrants.  I have seen first-hand the racism they experience and how their rights as workers are abused when they are forced to work in dangerous conditions, denied benefits like workers comp, and their wages are stolen by unscrupulous employers. 

In 2013, the Senate passed Comprehensive Immigration Reform.  I thought the dream of the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride would soon be fulfilled.  I set out to make an historical film about social movement building and how to achieve social justice goals.  But Tea Party Republicans in the House of Representatives convinced the Republican leaders to prevent the bill from coming up for a vote.  Then Donald Trump ran and became president on a platform of hatred, bigotry, misogyny and xenophobia. Although the journey just got longer, the work of the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride continues. Instead of being an historical documentary, The Long Ride now serves as a blueprint for how to move forward during these troubling times.  As original Freedom Rider John Lewis told us: 

“Hang in there.  Keep the faith.  Walk with the spirit of the Freedom Riders and ride with the spirit of the Freedom Riders of 1961.  And generations from now another group will say the Freedom Riders of 2003 left a page.  They left a map.  They left a road.  Because our struggle is not a struggle that lasts for one day or one week or one year, our struggle is the struggle of a lifetime.”​​