Las Abogadas: Attorneys on the Front Lines of the Migrant Crisis follows a group of (mostly) female immigration attorneys as they try to help individual asylum seekers confront the U.S. government's harsh policies against refugees. The film highlights how these dedicated lawyers, responded to the refugee crisis exacerbated by the Trump administration's aggressive anti-immigration stance, a struggle that persists even under the promises of relaxed immigration policies by the Biden administration.
The narrative begins in 2018, featuring Charlene D’Cruz, an Indian-American attorney, and Rebecca Eichler, a German-Chinese first-generation American. Together, they travel to a migrant caravan in Central Mexico to provide legal advice to desperate migrants. As policies evolve, they set up a mobile legal office in a Volkswagen bus amid thousands of migrants and work in makeshift camps along the Texas-Mexico border, even as the COVID-19 pandemic looms.
The film also follows Jodi Goodwin, a single mother known for reuniting separated families at the border, and Mulu Alemayehu, counseling African migrants in Tijuana. These women confront numerous challenges, from persuading border guards to adhere to the law to offering legal aid under the scorching Mexican sun. Las Abogadas showcases their surreal and often frustratingly fruitless efforts. This film has won several awards for its powerful depiction of the attorneys' relentless fight for justice amidst systemic obstacles. The documentary underscores the bravery and resilience of these women who stand up against insurmountable odds to uphold the legal rights of migrants.
One major issue with this film is tone: I feel like the documentary never really establishes a strong connection with the majority of asylum seekers while discussing their struggles in a detached way. We see a lot of mild complaining about the heat and having to work remotely during COVID precautions while people fleeing violence stand just a few feet away. It just feels poorly considered in light of the severity of violence these people are fleeing.
While this is an issue, there are plenty of reasons to pick up Las Abogadas. There is a lot of discussion of the actual laws being leveraged against asylum seekers, highlighting the grandfathered-in unfairness that sees Salvadorans, Haitians, and Hondurans rejected at the border and shipped back into the violent situations they are fleeing just because of outdated definitions and other clerical BS.
For this and an examination of COVID-19 policy’s impact on immigration, Las Abogadas is an excellent choice of a documentary. Las Abogadas: Attorneys on the Front Lines of the Migrant Crisis is a powerful documentary that not only sheds light on the harrowing challenges faced by asylum seekers but also celebrates the unwavering dedication and resilience of the women who fight tirelessly to uphold justice in the face of systemic adversity.
Where does Las Abogadas belong on public or academic library shelves?
Las Abogadas: Attorneys on the Front Lines of the Migrant Crisis belongs to public or academic library film collections in sections dedicated to Documentaries, Immigration/Immigrant Studies, Human Rights, Legal Studies/Law, Women's Studies, and Social Justice. Its focus on immigration attorneys, its fight for asylum seekers, and the broader implications of immigration policies make it a valuable resource for these categories.
How can the documentary Las Abogadas be used in the classroom?
Las Abogadas can be used in the classroom in various specific ways:
- Immigration Law Classes: In a module on asylum law, students can watch the documentary to understand the practical challenges attorneys face when dealing with U.S. immigration policies. They can then discuss the legal strategies depicted and compare them with theoretical frameworks learned in class.
- Human Rights Courses: As part of a unit on refugee rights, students can analyze the documentary to evaluate the effectiveness of legal interventions in protecting human rights. They can write essays on the role of attorneys in safeguarding these rights under international and domestic law.
- Social Justice Studies: During discussions on grassroots activism, students can examine the documentary to explore how individual advocates can effect change within larger systems of oppression. They can engage in group projects that propose solutions to the challenges highlighted in the film.
- Public Policy and Administration: As part of a course on policy analysis, students can analyze the impact of the Trump and Biden administrations' immigration policies as depicted in the documentary. They can prepare policy briefs suggesting improvements to current policies based on the film's insights.
- Current Events and Political Science: The documentary can be used to facilitate a debate on current U.S. immigration policies. Students can use examples from the film to argue different perspectives on immigration reform and its social and political implications.
- Ethics in Law: In discussions about professional ethics, students can explore the ethical dilemmas faced by the attorneys in the documentary. They can engage in role-playing exercises to navigate similar scenarios, applying ethical frameworks to their decision-making processes.
What are the purchase options for Las Abogadas: Attorneys on the Front Lines of the Migrant Crisis?
$90 (14-day stream); $150 (1-year stream); $350 (3-year stream); $600 (life of file)
Click here to purchase from New Day Films
Where can I learn more about Las Abogadas?
Click here to explore the official website
Director's Bio
Victoria Bruce is a Documentary Filmmaker and author with a passion for human rights and a long history of working on dramatic and sometimes dangerous non-fiction stories in Latin America. She has had her films in over 50 film festivals including IDFA and Sundance, and has had films acquired by HBO, CBS, History Channel, Netflix, Hulu, and PBS. She is the recipient of many film festival awards as well as a duPont-Columbia University Award.
Director's Statement
After learning that attorneys Rebecca Eichler and Charlene D’Cruz drove a VW bus to intercept 5,000 migrants in central Mexico and offer legal advice in 2018, the protagonists for a new documentary became clear. With the rhetoric in Washington increasing to a fever pitch around the subject of refugees coming to the southern border, it was important for me to be a part of bringing a humanitarian face to the crisis.
By centering the film around brave women attorneys often working for non-profits or completely pro bono, we could show true modern-day heroes standing up to insurmountable odds. The narrative of Las Abogadas centers around these brilliant women, all of whom gave us access to their lives and their law practices. Women who were trained to use the law to protect the most vulnerable were having their tools systematically twisted, canceled, and pulled out from under their critical work. Among their clients, we were given permission to film heartbreaking and heartwarming refugee stories as well.
As a filmmaker, it’s important to understand a film’s subjects on an emotional level. I am of the same age and socioeconomic class as the women attorneys I follow in this film. A major purpose in making the film was to reach other people in my demographic and educate them about the true faces of migration. But I also want to inspire viewers to act, to tell others, to help create change. Many documentary films are driven by advocacy, and I believe the most successful are those with intimate and human stories told in simple and compelling ways.
Click here to view the Discussion Guide
Click here to view the Press Kit
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Key Facts about Las Abogadas and its filmmakers
- The film features dialogue in several languages: English, Spanish, French, Amharic, and Kamtok (Cameroonian Pidgin English).
- Director Victoria Bruce, originally trained as a geologist, once narrated a documentary from the mouth of an active volcano.
- Rebecca Eichler, one of the featured abogadas, embarked on a year-long, 15,000-mile road trip through Mexico and Central America in a Volkswagen Westfalia van ("Wesley") with her family before moving to Mexico and later joining a migrant caravan in 2018.
- Due to COVID-19, the director had her subjects record their lives and work with migrants using iPhones, contributing significantly to the film's footage.
- Charlene D’Cruz, a key member of the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, has run several marathons barefoot.
- Executive Producer Careen Shannon, an immigration lawyer, has provided pro bono legal counsel to immigrant families in detention camps near the New Mexico and Texas border.
- Meritxell Calderón Vargas, a Mexican human rights lawyer in the film, refers to herself as an "abogada galáctica" (galactic lawyer) and has distinctive tattoos.
- Albergue ABBA, a migrant shelter featured in the film, uniquely supports amputees injured from falling off La Bestia, a freight train many migrants ride atop on their journey to the U.S. border.
- Two of the four featured abogadas in the film are immigrants, and one is a first-generation American.
- Jodi Goodwin has received honors for her pro bono work from the Texas State Bar and the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
- Editor Simon Efokoa, once an asylum seeker himself, met the director in Tijuana while receiving advice from abogada Mulu Alemayehu. He now works as a cameraman and film editor in Washington, DC, and is part of the director's family.
Awards
- Best Documentary, LA Independent Women’s Film Awards (USA-2022)
- Best Documentary, Awareness Film Festival (USA-2022)
- Best Documentary, Pembroke Taparelli Arts and Film Festival (USA-2022)
- Best Social Justice Documentary, Queen City Film Festival (USA-2022)
- Best of Women’s Voices, Portland Film Festival (USA-2022)
- Camera Eye International Mention Award, 6th International Women Filmmakers Festival (Turkey-2022)
- Special Jury Award for Activist Filmmaking, Arizona International Film Festival (USA-2023)
- Best Documentary, ONE Country ONE Film – Apchat-Issoire International Festival (France-2023)
- Best Documentary, Vancouver International Women in Film (Canada-2023)
- Best Feature, Vancouver International Women in Film (Canada-2023)
- Best in Fest, Valkyrie International Film Festival (USA-2023)
- Best Documentary Feature Film, Global Cinema Film Festival of Boston (USA-2023)
- Best Director, Global Cinema Film Festival of Boston (USA-2023)
- Best Documentary, Vail Film Festival (USA-2023)
Film Festivals
- Selected special screenings at:
- Columbia University
- New York Law School
- City University of New York (CUNY) Lehman College
- Bryn Mawr College
- University of Montana Law School
- University of Minnesota Law School
Contact if you'd like to interview one of the filmmakers or one of the film subjects: CShannon.LasAbogadasFilm@gmail.com.
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