Expanding Sanctuary
Immigration
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20m
Directed by Kristal Sotomayor • Documentary • With Linda Hernandez • 2023 • 21 minutes
An immigrant mother becomes an unexpected community leader during a groundbreaking campaign to end the Philadelphia police’s data-sharing with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Expanding Sanctuary tells a rarely seen story of resilience, tracing the Latinx immigrant community’s successful fight to protect families and change legislation against a backdrop of systemic injustice.
At the heart of the film is a personal journey of transformation. What begins as a woman’s quest to bring her mother to the United States for her wedding evolves into a profound awakening. As she works with the immigrant rights organization Juntos, she discovers her voice, power, and agency, channeling her initial hope for personal connection into a larger purpose. Her newfound role as an organizer not only redefines her life but strengthens her entire community’s fight for justice, illuminating the extraordinary potential of collective action and solidarity.
Up Next in Immigration
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Western
Directed by Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross • Documentary • With Chad Foster, Martin Wall, Brylyn Wall • 2015 • 92 minutes
In Eagle Pass, Texas, where the U.S. and Mexico meet along the Rio Grande, a cattleman and the mayor face the dawn of a new reality. In the matter of a few turbulent months, the s...
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25 Texans in the Land of Lincoln
Directed by Ellen Brodsky • Documentary • With Professor Teresa Van Hoy, Priscilla Reyes, Eric Villalpando • 2019 • 33 minutes
Twenty-five history students from St. Mary’s University take a 2,000 mile bus trip from the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas to Springfield, Illinois to build a Day of the De...
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Sin País (Without Country)
Directed by Theo Rigby • Documentary • 2011 • 20 minutes
Sin País (Without Country) attempts to get beyond the partisan politics and mainstream media’s ‘talking point’ approach to immigration issues by exploring one family’s complex and emotional journey involving deportation.
