I had to a film review assignment for my Chicano/Latino Studies so this is what I picked. Got an A+. Here is the feedback I got from my professor :”Your summary of the film was concise and, your discussion of its themes was good. You connect the story of the film to our class’ topics in a clear fashion, and then you build on that discussion. What really made your essay stand out was how you go into some detail as to why you chose this film, what messages you take from it.”
Producers: Dan Cogan & Jenny Raskin
Reel Peak Films Distributor: Netflix
*Words in all caps are the text on the screen. Words underlined are the highlighted words in the text. *
Episode 1: Installing Fear
There are two points of view in this limited-series documentary: the immigrants and the ICE agents. I will explore both sides.
UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS ICE PRIORITIZED REMOVING IMMIGRANTS ARRESTED FOR COMMITTING SERIOUS CRIMES.
IN HIS FIRST DAYS IN OFFICE, PRESIDENT TRUMP SIGNED AN EXECUTIVE ORDER SHIFTING PRIORITES TO REMOVE ALL IMMIGRATION VIOLATORS. Under the law, every immigrant that does not have papers is considered a violator.
“Under President Trump, we are mandated to hire 10,000 ICE agents.”
FUGITIVE OPERATIONS TYPICALLY EXECUTE ADMINISTRATIVE WARRANTS AND ARE NOT ALLOWED TO ENTER A RESIDENCE UNLESS GIVEN PERMISSION. Like vampires.
ICE OFFICERS ARE TRAINED TO IDENTIFY THEMSELVES AS ‘POLICE’ UNLESS SPECIFICALLY ASKED BY THE INDIVIDUAL WITH WHOM THEY ARE ENGAGING.
ICE locates the “Tango” (intended target) and find several other gentlemen in the country illegally. These people are called “collaterals” because they are not the specific target but do not have paper either, so they get rounded up as well. Efran, ICE agent: “Most of our targets are criminal aliens. That is where the collaterals are the victims… they get caught up in the politics.”
Detained man: “I was on my way to work, and they stopped me. Supposedly they arrived with a paper looking for ‘Juan Maria Sosa’, but they detained me. I haven’t had any problems with the law. I am not a killer, or a robber or gang member. I have not committed a single crime. They were not after me, and yet here I am. They were looking for someone else.” Brian, ICE agent: “I don’t do collaterals. I just don’t think it’s right.” Call from boss on speaker “Start taking collaterals, man. I don’t care what you do, but bring at least two people in.”
Thomas Homan, ICE Acting Director, speaking at a podium at the White House: “There is no safe haven here. You are not welcome here and you will not find safe harbor here.”
Josue Rodriguez, detained man: “it’s been 27 days since I crossed with my three-year-old. Since then, I haven’t had any contact with him…I never saw him again after they pulled him off my leg.” As the child of illegal immigrants, our parents instilled in us the fear that one day Immigration could come take them.
*Trump reversed the policy that separated migrant families*
After being detained for 40 days, Josue Rodriguez is given a GPS-ankle bracelet and reunited with his son.
Episode 2: Maintaining Vigilance
Kristopher, an ICE Non-Detained Unit agent arrests a gentleman that came into the ICE office to report in. He tells the guy’s wife that the guy had two years (to leave).
THERE ARE OVER 3 MILLION IMMIGRANTS ON THE ICE NON-DETAINED DOCKET.
A woman from Ghana comes in to report. She had a final order for removal dated 1996. Her lawyer has filed for a stay. Another man with his lawyer is told that the stay motion they filed with the court was granted and they were extended for another year. Another gentleman is arrested, taken to a detention facility and awaits deportation.
El Paso detention facility
Bernardo Arevalo, a detained man: “If I had known they were going to separate me from my son I never would have left my country.”
MONTHS AFTER DONALD TRUMP’S EXECUTIVE ORDER ENDED FAMILY SEPERATION, HUNDREDS OF FAMILIES REMAINED SEPERATED.
Bernardo Arevalo still detained three months later: “I’ve been here for three months. Shut in without seeing my son.”
Emilio, Bernardo’s son is living with relatives in Texas. He skips school and has become withdrawn.
Five months later, the ankle bracelets were taken off Josue Rodriguez and his wife. Now they are tracked on their phones. “Fear always exists here. We are living from one day to the next, with uncertainty.”
At the end of episode two, Bernardo Arevalo calls his wife in Guatemala to tell her he might be released from the detainment facility and be able to stay in the country. His wife tells him to be strong.
Episode 3: Power of the Vote
Bernardo Arevalo and his son are reunited. He calls his wife, and he says he wants her to come up north soon. His wife, Rebecca, says she wants him to send her money so that she can pay the bills and buy some land. He says that is not what they agreed on.
This is a gut-wrenching documentary. There are six episodes total and it shares the stories of US Marines that served but were deported, lobbying for governors to give them citizenship. This documentary shows us all sides of the issue, from the undocumented immigrants and deportation officers to the politicians and Dreamers. Some ICE agents love their job, some hate it. But nearly all of them feel that they have no power to make decisions because they must follow orders, hit a certain number of deportees in a month. One sad/interesting thing in episode 2 is that immigration judges say that they must hit a quota every month. If they do not, they will be fired.
This reflects what we have learned in this class because it shows how different Latinos are treated in this country. In an episode it shows undocumented day laborers that get hired to work construction and when it is time to get paid the owner of the company, a politician, doesn’t pay them, knowing there is no recourse. Citizenship/Green cards are what divide the haves and have nots in this country. This reflects how we are treated as Latinos. There is a clip of Thomas Hogan saying that policies are being put in place for the southern border. Shocking that these same policies are not in place to keep out Canadians.
This documentary is a snapshot of who we are as a society in America with this current administration. This is a very political issue because ICE policies can change hourly and daily. This is a social issue because children being ripped from the arms of their parents is bad for society. Same thing happened to the Unabomber, saw how he turned out.
It is ironic to think that US needs to intervene in Central American affairs to fix their situation that is causing so many immigrants to come up in the first place. This administration thought that caging migrants and separating them from their children would work as a deterrent to keep people from coming. They were wrong.
Erica's Films 