[MODEM NOISES]
[GUITAR MUSIC PLAYING]
SHANE SMITH: Now because Colonia Lebaron is so close to
the American border, they're totally affected by our
immigration policy and, of course, our war on drugs.
If America sneezes, Mexico catches cold.
And because of this, they are extremely interested in
American political policy.
You have narco cartels.
You have a drug route.
You have illegal immigration.
So all of these problems, who do you think should be the
next president of the United States?
BRENT LEBARON: Mitt Romney has a great, great policy.
SHANE SMITH: Now are you just saying that because you're
Mormon-ish?
BRENT LEBARON: His ties, his people.
His family lives right across the mountain here.
You should probably meet them.
BRENT LEBARON: Now, when Brent says his family, he means
presidential candidate Mitt Romney's family.
Now, we knew that his father, George Romney, had been born
into Mormon colony in Mexico, but not that they still had an
active Romney colony here in Chihuahua.
So the Romneys still live here, across the valley?
BRENT LEBARON: Yep, they're some great guys.
I just really like them.
Golf with them quite often and-- some really cool guys.
SHANE SMITH: Yeah?
BRENT LEBARON: Yeah.
SHANE SMITH: So we went across the valley to check them out.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
BRENT LEBARON: Nine holes with two par fives, and two par
threes, and the rest are fours.
Pretty nice greens, eh?
SHANE SMITH: Beautiful.
How did this golf course start?
BRENT LEBARON: We just got a group together that like to
play golf and copied other golf courses, put in the
sprinkling system.
When the violence started, we lost quite a few members--
just like in Casas Grandes, a lot of people moved out.
SHANE SMITH: You play here with some of the Lebarons from
colonial Lebaron?
KELLY ROMNEY: Yeah, some of the guys come
over here and play.
SHANE SMITH: And who's better, the Lebarons or the Romneys?
KELLY ROMNEY: The Lebarons.
[LAUGHTER]
KELLY ROMNEY: I don't know what they're eating over
there, but--
[LAUGH]
SHANE SMITH: So how long have the Romneys been here?
KELLY ROMNEY: 1885.
My great grandfather, Miles Park Romney was one of the
original people that came here.
Mitt is a relative.
He's a second cousin.
SHANE SMITH: So his dad was born in Chihuahua.
Yeah, he was born in Colonia Dublan, about
15 miles from here.
Their family left, and they stayed in the United States.
They didn't come back.
You know, I remember his father ran for President of
the United States in '68, at least he was a candidate.
His citizenship was questioned because he was born here in
Mexico but he was born of America parents.
SHANE SMITH: Do you think that this craziness around the
run-up to the election, is that
bringing too much attention?
KELLY ROMNEY: I think one of the reasons it's brought a lot
of attention to here is because of Mitt's position on
illegal immigration.
SHANE SMITH: Now what's ironic about this is that Mitt
Romney, whose father was born in Mexico, and would be
considered the poster child of the Dream Act, actually has
one of the staunchest views on immigration in his already
conservative Republican Party.
MITT ROMNEY: And I've indicated I would veto the
Dream Act if provisions included that people who are
here illegally--
if they go to school here long enough, get a degree here,
that they can become permanent residents.
I think that's a mistake.
[APPLAUSE]
MITT ROMNEY: Now, it seems a bit weird for a person who's
essentially a first-generation immigrant to have such harsh
views on immigration.
It's kind of like, me thinks thy dost protest too
much kind of deal.
And his own cousin Kelly who, although he supports Mitt for
president, thinks that his position on
immigration is wrong.
KELLY ROMNEY: I think he needs to change.
Being born and raised in Mexico--
and especially since NAFTA, I think that the United States
is partly responsible for the increase in illegal
immigration that happened.
SHANE SMITH: So America makes policy then, all of the
sudden, Northern Mexico gets all screwed up.
KELLY ROMNEY: That's right.
Give amnesty to those that are out there that are working
legitimately and have a job.
Come up with a guest worker program and let these people
go out there and work and then come home and take care of
their family because, basically, they're starving to
death here in Mexico.
SHANE SMITH: In fact, it's so bad that, for many people,
there's only really two options--
one, sneak into America, or two, work for the cartels.
Didn't some farmers go up from the farms and go to the
mountains and start growing drugs?
KELLY ROMNEY: Yeah, a lot of them have gone into the
mountain areas, and they grow of drugs.
SHANE SMITH: And now we're sitting here, going, OK, well,
what are we going to do.
KELLY ROMNEY: What are we going to do?
Exactly.
I wish Mitt would make contact with us.
And I really think that we could help him.
SHANE SMITH: And as I would later realize, contacting the
Mexican side of his family would probably be the last
thing that Mitt Romney would do.
MITT ROMNEY: We have got to protect our borders and stop
the flood of illegal immigration.
And I will not do anything that opens up another wave of
illegal immigration.
[APPLAUSE]
KELLY ROMNEY: When they started the war on drugs, the
violence just escalated.
To me, this used to be the most peaceful
place in the world.
But now you keep a close watch on it.
SHANE SMITH: Have there ever been any Romneys kidnapped?