Immigration: Video Resources
“Locked in a Box”
Presbyterian Church
“Locked in a Box” is an award-winning short documentary that follows the stories of individuals held in the U.S. Immigration detention system and those who visit them. The film traces the lives of individuals who fled their homelands in search of safety and freedom only to end up in U.S. prisons under a mandatory bed quota system run by Immigration Customs & Enforcement (ICE). Since the 1990’s there has been a massive expansion of the immigration detention system up to 34,000 immigrants in detention on any given day in approximately 200 different facilities, many of which are for-profit prisons. “Locked in a Box” helps strip away the political rhetoric to see the human cost of detention.
In addition to the "Locked in a Box" documentary, PDA has produced a series of informational interview clips with Refugee & Asylum Catalyst Susan Krehbiel and Immigration Attorney Teresa Waggener from the Office of Immigration Issues of the Office of the General Assembly.
“Living Undocumented”
Netflix
This one-season documentary series shines a light on eight immigrant families in the U.S. from different countries and backgrounds, who are all undocumented and all face possible deportation. The footage outlines their deeply personal journeys; capturing the shame, uncertainty, and fear that many immigrant families in the US wrestle with on a daily basis. The 45-minute episodes also uncover a certain hope that the families hold in their hearts, despite the hardship of their journeys.
“Climate Migration”
PBS
This one-episode of the PBS series “Earth Focus” shines a light on migrations caused by our changing climate. Changes like droughts and floods are driving many people away from their rural, farming communities into big cities. Rural lifestyles are becoming increasingly unsustainable in our environment, and how populations are adapting through migration. This episode focuses on exposing these trends particularly on Mongolian herding and an emerging new community of Haitian people living in limbo at the border between Mexico and the U.S. (25 minutes)