By Leo Juarez

On location in San Bernardino

When we set out to do a story about two cities (Maywood and San Bernardino, Calif.) on opposite sides of the immigration debate, it was relatively easy to get the “talking heads” — city officials, community activists, etc.

The real challenge was finding those who had the biggest stake in this debate — ordinary undocumented residents (or illegal immigrants … whichever terminology you prefer). But we knew from the beginning that it was through their perspective that we needed to tell our story.

It took us several weeks, but we finally found two families who were willing share their hopes and fears with us on camera, though they had nothing to gain from doing so. Simply having the time to gain the trust of these folks is one of the advantages of this initiative.

And while it’s true that the recent immigrant movement has emboldened those who are accustomed to life in the shadows, it still humbles me that these two families stuck their necks out for our sake — or, more accurately, for the sake of our story.