Illegal

Laz Ayala escaped war-torn El Salvador as a 14-year-old in 1981. He smuggled over the Mexican border into the United States curled up in the trunk of an old Cadillac. A new life waited in San Bernardino, California, with his sister, father and brother. Laz had to succeed in school while learning English, with the threat of deportation looming. This is a story about immigration and the American dream.