While the media covers the southern United States immigration crisis with many pictures of people crossing the United States/Mexico border, it tends to leave out the effects of the expansion of border security on the local residents. Eva Lewis, director and resident of Arivaca, Arizona, rectifies this oversight with a documentary that reviews the history of the Border Patrol Agency and describes the efforts of Arivaca residents.
They resist the militarization and law enforcement of the border zone, provide humanitarian aid to individuals crossing the Sonoran Desert, and cooperate with other border communities on these issues. Eva Lewis uses live footage, personal interviews, and animation in this educational documentary suitable for studies in political science, human rights, immigration, border studies, American studies, and sociology.
As the immigration film points out, the Border Patrol Agency did not exist before 1924, and, for many years preceding the 1990s, only one agent monitored the border near Arivaca. People crossed freely between Mexico and the United States for work and trade. In 1994, under President Clinton, “Operation Prevention Through Deterrence," and the free trade agreement, the border becomes closed to people.
After 9/11, border security grows and becomes militarized with an increased number of agents, towers, helicopters, walls, and military-grade weaponry. At first, people could come through Nogales, Arizona, and other crossing towns. With an increased number of Border Patrol checkpoints, migrants are forced to cross through more dangerous terrain, walking five to fifteen days through uneven desert terrain—facing deadly predators and harsh weather. Many thousands of people have died attempting to make the hazardous journey, but, migration is undeterred.
Situated 13 miles north of the border, residents of Arivaca, Arizona, are forced to pass through checkpoints on their way to other towns. Residents tell personal stories of harsh treatment by Border Patrol agents who force them out of their cars—even though the residents provide identification—and inspect their vehicles. If agents are rotated to various locations, one narrator stated they do not get to know the residents of Arivaca or the nearby Tohono D’odham Indian Reservation, and, all individuals are treated as if they are illegals.
In 2014, Arivaca residents decide to monitor the agents at the checkpoints and also protest having to go through checkpoints. The residents form a group People Helping People (PHP) and set up an office with aid, advice, and help; booklets inform citizens of what humanitarian aid is legal. In May 2015, residents of nearby border towns of Ajo, Bisbee, and Patagonia hold a “Day of Action." While the Border Patrol Agency did not provide any comments to the filmmaker, and the film concludes in 2019, leaving out the increases in immigration after 2020, Undeterred conveys a human side to the story of border town residents and migrants. Recommended.
What academic subjects would this film be suitable for?
Undeterred would be suitable for such subjects as political science, human rights, immigration and border studies, American studies, and sociology. Consider adding this title to your academic library shelves.