I don’t understand the American immigration policy. I am so confused I can’t find my way to a position. Almost every other country has a border policy, so why the cry-out? Why is it even an election year trigger point? And why on earth is the projected budget for this year $25,197,663,000?
Christiane Amanpour tried to help last month on CNN by having award-winning director Pamela Yates and a featured immigrant from her movie, “Borderland: The Line Within,” on “The Amanpour Show.” She asked what motivated them to make this movie and what role ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) plays in America.
“Borderland” follows two immigrants, Gabriela Castañeda and Kaxh Mura’l. Their stories and personalities are vastly different. Self-confident and verbally astute, Castañeda gains skills in America that propel her into leadership in the Border Network for Human Rights, which works primarily with women who have been separated from their husbands who’ve been deported. There is a moment in the film where she is allowed to cross the border and give her deported husband a hug. The family separation is excruciating, but Gabriela takes her pain and channels it into becoming a national leader in the Movement of Immigrant Leaders in Pennsylvania (MILPA) and the Poor People’s Campaign.
Kaxh Mura’l’s story is quite different. He is a quiet, proud Mayan from Guatemala. He got caught up in a conflict with a mining company that wanted to excavate his community’s land. Death threats ensued and he had to run for his life. He recorded his ordeals en route to the Texas border on his cell phone.
Both stories show three things. First, the inhumane treatment these people have endured from many sources, including ICE and its contractors. Second, the resilient, stoic nature of those attempting to immigrate to the US. Third, the intricate way the US has created the problems that cause so many to flee in the first place.
I’m still confused about what our US immigration policy should be. From “Borderland,” however, I understand more fully the belief that immigrants are taking American jobs is not reality. As Castañeda says, the main problem is inequality. She sees the current US attitude related to the border as a direct attack not only on immigrants but every poor person in the US.
This month I’m going to study up. With three other women from my church, I’m visiting The Florence Project (FP) in Arizona. FP provides free legal services, social services, and advocacy for immigrants facing detention and potential deportation. We hope to learn exactly what the current law is and what the FP people would like it to be. We’ll visit a detention facility to see how our tax dollars are working, and we’ll visit the border. Are we treating people wishing to come to America equally and with dignity? Are those employed or contracted by ICE following the law and regulations with kindness and respect?
In the meantime, one of the most efficient ways to understand the maze of difficulties related to the border is to see documentaries like “Borderland” in order to gain a greater perspective on just how much basic human rights are respected and what our tax dollars are paying for at the border and the ICE Detention Centers in communities throughout America.
Credits
Director: Pamela Yates
Producer: Paco de Onis
Featuring: Gabriela Castañeda, Kaxh Mura’l, Giovanni Batz, Alex Gil, Carlos Spector
Editor: Peter Kinoy
Director of Photography: Juan Hernández
Composer and Musician: Sara Curruchich and Roger Clark Miller
Consulting Producers: Irma Alicia Velásquez Nimatuj and Bruni Burres
Release: Sept. 12, 2024
Website and how to view: https://borderland.skylight.is/
. . .
Join us on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/itsjustmovies!