Crossing Borders: An Immigration Film Series

Rev. Peter Morales, President of the UUA, believes that for UUs to thrive, they must reach beyond the confines of personal social and cultural experience to cross the borders of race, culture, and social class. One way to do that is to participate in this immigration film series being sponsored by UUCA’s Racial and Ethnic Concerns Working Group. The immigration films in this series, each to be followed by group discussion, are as follows:

Feb. 9: A Better Life (2011) is a drama about an East L.A. undocumented immigrant gardener determined to move  out of the city in order to get his teenage son away from gangs and into a decent school. He acquires a truck that allows him to take more jobs, earning a better income. But with immigration agents on every corner and gangsters trying to lure his son into a life of crime, it’s a constant struggle just to survive without being deported.

Feb. 23: The Other Side of Immigration is based on over 700 interviews and asks why so many Mexicans leave home to work in the U.S. and what happens to the families they leave behind. Through an approach that is both subtle and thought provoking, the film challenges audiences to imagine more creative and effective immigration policies.

March 1: Which Way Home shows the personal side of immigration through the eyes of children who face harrowing dangers with enormous courage and resourcefulness as they endeavor to make it to the United States. It follows several unaccompanied child migrants as they journey through Mexico on a freight train. These are stories of hope and courage, disappointment and sorrow.

March 8: Sentenced Home follows three young Cambodian-Americans who came to the U.S. as refugee children. Raised in inner city Seattle, they pay an unbearable price for mistakes they made as teenagers. Under strict anti-terrorism legislation enacted in 1996, even minor convictions can result in automatic deportation. For some, this means being permanently separated from families and homes because of a minor offense.