A tender and sweeping story about what roots us, MINARI follows a Korean-American family that moves to an Arkansas farm in search of their own American Dream. The family home changes completely with the arrival of their sly, foul-mouthed, but incredibly loving grandmother. Amidst the instability and challenges of this new life in the rugged Ozarks, MINARI shows the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home.
The parallel stories of nine-year-old Carlitos and his mother, Rosario. In the hopes of providing a better life for her son, Rosario works illegally in the U.S. while her mother cares for Carlitos back in Mexico. Unexpected circumstances drive both Rosario and Carlitos to embark on their own journeys in a desperate attempt to reunite. Along the way, mother and son face challenges and obstacles but never lose hope that they will one day be together again. Riggen's film is not only a heartwarming family story; she also offers subtle commentary on the much-debated issue of illegal immigration. (Spanish audio with English subtitles)
Las historias paralelas de Carlitos, de nueve años de edad, y su madre, Rosario. Con la esperanza de brindarle una vida mejor a su hijo, Rosario trabaja ilegalmente en los Estados Unidos mientras su madre cuida a Carlitos en México. Circunstancias inesperadas llevan a Rosario y Carlitos a emprender sus propios viajes en un intento desesperado por reunirse. En el camino, madre y hijo enfrentan desafíos y obstáculos, pero nunca pierden la esperanza de que algún día volverán a estar juntos. La película de Riggen no es sólo una conmovedora historia familiar; También ofrece comentarios sutiles sobre el tan debatido tema de la inmigración ilegal. (Audio en español con subtítulos en inglés)
Follows the story of four lifelong friends, whose lives are filled with joy and heartbreak, and shows how their experiences have affected the hopes and dreams they hold for each of their children.
Life in impoverished Depression-era Ireland holds little promise for young Frank McCourt, the oldest son in a tightly-knit family. Living by his wits, cheered by his irrepressible spirit, and sustained by his mother's fierce love, Frank embarks on an inspiring journey to overcome the poverty of his childhood and reach the land of his dreams: America.
Based on true love, this decades spanning romance begins in Mexico between an aspiring chef (Armando Espitia) and a teacher (Christian Vázquez). Their lives restart in incredible ways as societal pressure propels them to embark on a treacherous journey to NYC with dreams, hopes, and memories in tow.
With their two young daughters in tow, Johnny and Sarah emigrate from Ireland to New York City in pursuit of a dream. The family uses ingenuity and sheer strength of will to make the most of their new life. Ultimately it is their kindness to a stranger and that stranger's response in return that builds their new home.
Maria, a poor Columbian teenager, is desperate to leave a soul-crushing job. She accepts an offer to transport packets of heroin - which she swallows - to the United States. The ruthless world of drug trafficking proves to be more than she bargained for.
Willie, a disenchanted loner, is visited by his sixteen-year old Hungarian cousin Eva. Willie's equally slacker best friend Eddie also meets Eva, and the three become loose friends, until Eva decides to leave to visit Willie and Eva's Aunt Lottie in Cleveland. After a while Willie and Eddie are surprised to find that they miss Eva's companionship and take off for Cleveland in an old car. Finding Cleveland in winter to be disappointingly cold and unattractive, the three leave Cleveland for sunny Florida, landing there in off-season. Accidental involvement in a drug deal provides some unsuspected good fortune until it becomes time for Eva to go back home to Hungary.
Based on over 700 interviews in rural Mexican towns where about half the population has left to work in the United States, [this film] asks why so many Mexicans come to the U.S. and what happens to the families and communities they leave behind.
One Hundred Eggs a Minute is an experimental documentary film about the reflections of a second-generation Chinese-American woman who grew up working in her family's fortune cookie factory in San Francisco from ages 5 to 23. This is a film about one immigrant family's means of survival, as much as it is a story about work, filial piety, sacrifice, and the meaning of choice.
Born in Bari, Madonnella neighbourhood, aged 9, in the mid-sixties, he migrated with his family to the US and grew up like a true American. One day. Pasquale decides to change his name: he becomes Tony. Rockabilly and hot dogs included. He never returned to Italy till the day when, at that point a professional taxi driver, an anti-immigration blitz at the Mexican border forced him to choose: jail in Arizona, or deportation to Italy for 10 years. His crime? Smuggling illegal migrants into the US, on board his taxi.Tony opts for deportation. Back in Italy, with his American dream laying in pieces, he's completely alone in what he defines "another planet", a small, still country with no opportunities. On the desolating backdrop of where he lives next to the motorway, Tony still wears his cowboy hat and doesn't seem willing to give up ...
Jamil Sunsin is the only person in his family born in the U.S. His parents and sister came from Honduras and lived in the U.S. for a decade before Jamil’s father was arrested for being undocumented. The entire family was forced to return to Honduras, a country wracked with violence. After a knife attack, Jamil is traumatized, and becomes terrified to leave home. The family makes an excruciating choice to send him back to the U.S. Now 15, Jamil tries to survive without his family and fights against a broken immigration system. Back in Honduras, his sister Mirka, who would’ve been eligible for DACA had she remained in the US, struggles to adapt, hoping to someday reunite with Jamil. This intimate portrait is a rare look into the aftermath of deportation and family separation, amidst the current backlash against America’s immigrants.
This documentary traces the history of Italian immigrants in the United States.
In 1970, in the middle of the Cold War, an American patrol boat meets a Soviet fishing vessel in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Suddenly, a Lithuanian sailor jumps across ten feet of icy water, landing on the deck of the American boat in a frantic bid for political asylum. To his horror, the Americans return him to the Soviets. Told through incredible archival footage and re-lived by the would-be defector Simas Kudirka himself, the tale takes us on a stranger-than-fiction journey of imprisonment, twists of fate, and the price of becoming a symbol of freedom.
The Road to the White House tells the story of how Irish immigrants to the United States rose from impoverished, despised, disorganized outsiders to elect John F. Kennedy as the country's first (and so far, only) non-Protestant, non-Anglo Saxon president. The series, filmed in both Ireland and America, follows the rise of Irish-American political machines in cities like New York, Boston, Kansas City and Chicago and features contributions from Pulitzer Prize winning authors such as Robert Caro and Jack Beatty. The three-part series tell the story of six unique and powerful Irish-American politicians whose ancestors all came to America as impoverished Irish immigrants.
The Road to the White House tells the story of how Irish immigrants to the United States rose from impoverished, despised, disorganized outsiders to elect John F. Kennedy as the country's first (and so far, only) non-Protestant, non-Anglo Saxon president. The series, filmed in both Ireland and America, follows the rise of Irish-American political machines in cities like New York, Boston, Kansas City and Chicago and features contributions from Pulitzer Prize winning authors such as Robert Caro and Jack Beatty. The three-part series tell the story of six unique and powerful Irish-American politicians whose ancestors all came to America as impoverished Irish immigrants.
The Road to the White House tells the story of how Irish immigrants to the United States rose from impoverished, despised, disorganized outsiders to elect John F. Kennedy as the country's first (and so far, only) non-Protestant, non-Anglo Saxon president. The series, filmed in both Ireland and America, follows the rise of Irish-American political machines in cities like New York, Boston, Kansas City and Chicago and features contributions from Pulitzer Prize winning authors such as Robert Caro and Jack Beatty. The three-part series tell the story of six unique and powerful Irish-American politicians whose ancestors all came to America as impoverished Irish immigrants.
This rich documentary short captures the story of the first generation of Sephardic Jewish immigrants who settled in Seattle, found work at the Pike Place Market and established one of the largest Sephardic communities in America.
Land of Promise is a fascinating, richly illustrated documentary that explores the Jewish experience in South Carolina from colonial days to modern times. It is a heartwarming story of religious tolerance, economic and political opportunity By 1800, Charleston was home to the largest and wealthiest Jewish community in North America. The settling of Jews in South Carolina mirrors the Jewish immigration to the United States with Sephardic Jews in the 17th century being followed by German Jews, then Eastern Jews and Russian Jews today
Adelante showcases an Irish Catholic church on the outskirts of Philadelphia that is attracting the patronage of Mexican immigrants in the area. With a personal glimpse at the lives of the vibrant community members - a remarkable Irish American priest, young Mexican immigrants, and older Irish parishioners - the film shows how churchgoers from various backgrounds have forged meaningful and heartfelt bonds of friendship and understanding. Once moribund, the church has become a place for American parishioners to learn about, accept, and embrace a group of immigrants that breathes new life into the community. The film shares the expectant joy of the newly arrived families as they establish lives in an unfamiliar, often bewildering country that offers opportunities entangled with sometimes painful compromises. At its core, Adelante is a celebration of two groups' growth and an embrace of their evolving community.
Out of Ireland is a documentary about Irish emigration to America, from the famine-swept villages of 19th century Ireland to the industrialized cities of 20th century America. It is told through the lives and letters of eight immigrants and features the voices of Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn, Gabriel Byrne and more.
Making Noise in Silence explores the richness and complexities of Deaf culture from the perspective of two Korean high school students who attend the California School for the Deaf, Fremont. Born and raised in South Korea, Jeongin Mun and Min Wook Cho have strong ties to their Korean heritage and learned Korean as their first language. However, what separates Jeongin and Min Wook from most children of immigrant families is that they are also deaf. When their families moved to the United States, their deafness automatically put them into an entirely separate cultural group with its own language, customs, and history.
This is a vivid portrayal of a year in the life of the Ortiz family -- hard working Dominican immigrants who live frugally in Brooklyn and dream of retiring one day in their native country. Their American-born daughters have different ideas and aspirations. These bittersweet contradictions form the core of the film as we watch the family sort out the rewards and the costs of pursuing the American dream.
Since President Obama took office, deportations and detentions have reached record levels. The get-tough policy has brought complaints of abuse and harsh treatment. FRONTLINE investigates Obama's enforcement strategies and journeys into the secretive world of immigrant detention, with a penetrating look at who is being detained and what is happening to them.
More than 100,000 American children are affected by parental deportations each year. These deportations can have devastating consequences for children; apart from the emotional and psychological effects of losing a parent, these children often end up in financially perilous situations or are even placed in foster care. Nora Santiago has taken on a personal quest to help over 800 of these kids. Her mission is illustrated against larger questions and controversies over immigration policy.
This intimate and personal documentary follows two women from Ciudad Juárez as they cross the U.S.-Mexico border legally to give birth in Texas, putting their hearts and bodies on the line as they confront harassment at the hands of U.S. border officials. One million people legally cross the U.S.-Mexico border every day in both directions. Among them are women who cross for the purposes of childbirth. With the threat of obstetrical violence in Mexican hospitals and the desire for natural birth with midwives, Gaby and Luisa make the difficult decision to cross the border to El Paso, seeking a safer future for their children. Even with papers, their journeys are uncertain. Against the backdrop of oppressive U.S. border policy and growing debates over immigration, these women's stories of risk, strength, and resilience shed light on the realities and challenges of life on the border.
Five Years North is the coming-of-age story of Luis, an undocumented Guatemalan boy who just arrived alone in New York City. He struggles to work, study, and evade Judy -- the Cuban-American ICE officer patrolling his neighborhood.
Since the age of 4, Angy Rivera has lived in the United States with a secret that threatens to upend her life: She is undocumented. Angy arrived with her mother, fleeing violence, poverty, and civil war in their native Colombia. For 20 years they live in the shadows, struggling to stay afloat financially and avoid deportation while battling a complex and inequitable immigration system. DON'T TELL ANYONE is a phrase whispered often and branded deeply on the consciousness of all who are undocumented. Now 24, unable to pay tuition for college and facing an uncertain future, Angy joins the youth-led New York State Youth Leadership Council (YLC) with whom she dons a bullhorn at pro-immigration rallies, telling all who will listen that she is "undocumented and proud." DON’T TELL ANYONE (NO LE DIGAS A NADIE) follows Rivera’s remarkable journey from poverty in rural Colombia to the front page of The New York Times.
The political and economic turmoil of Europe drove millions to leave their countries of origin and emigrate to the U.S. where a lady held a welcoming lamp "beside the Golden Door." This ABC News program anchored by Peter Jennings tells the dramatic story of the transformation of America into a truly multicultural nation, from the teeming ethnic neighborhoods of New York to the black migration to northern cities during the Great Depression. Also discussed are ugly incidents of racism spurred by the terror tactics of the Ku Klux Klan and the World War II fears that prompted the forced internment of 120,000 Japanese.
This documentary gives an in-depth look at the impact of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the effect that it continues to have on generations of Chinese and Chinese Americans. This law was the first exclusion policy officially adopted by the United States government, one of the results of the decades long scapegoating endured by Chinese workers caught in the crossfire of the lethal turn-of-the-century labor political powerplay. Personal stories as well as chilling revelations about INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) procedures give a frame of reference to the archived histories of official documents and images, shedding light on the toll of institutionalized discrimination and racism that remains a century later.
Join Ann Curry for emotional reunions between two Cuban refugees and the U.S. strangers that offered them a chance of a better future decades ago: the man searching for the Mexican-American family that gave him a home as a young boy after Castro's regime executed his father and a Californian fire chief looking for the shrimping boat skipper who brought him to safety.
In the 1980s, the nature of the Latino Diaspora changes again. From Cuba a second wave of refugees to United States - the Mariel exodus - floods Miami. The same decade sees the sudden arrival of hundreds of thousands of Central American? (Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and Nicaraguans) fleeing bloodshed and death squads. A backlash ensues: tightened borders, anti-bilingualism, state laws to declare all illegal immigrants felons. But a sea change is underway as Latinos spread geographically and make their mark in music, sports, politics, business, and education. Latinos present a challenge and an opportunity for the United States. America's largest and youngest growing sector of the population presents what project advisor Professor Marta Tienda calls, The Hispanic Moment. Their success could determine the growth of the United States in the twenty-first century; however their failure, contributing to an underclass, could also pull this country down. The key to their success is education.
Chronicles the underreported history of a group of immigrants finding refuge, overcoming adversity and ultimately creating new lives in the United States. Even though Iran is is in the news virtually every day, many Americans have little knowledge of the story of the hundreds of thousands of Iranians who live in the U.S.
The story of three teenagers and their families hoping to make it safely onto American soil after escaping the Nazi invasion of Europe. In September 1940, three teenagers were trapped on a steamship in the port of Hampton Roads, Virginia. Along with 83 other exhausted refugees, the teens were hoping to be allowed on American soil--where millions of others in distress had safely landed before them. But times had changed. America was turning away refugees at this critical time in history. Would they be turned away too? "Nobody Wants Us" is their story. Through the stories of three teens we learn about the inherent goodness of others at a time when the world seemed against them. With the help of a Virginia maritime lawyer, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and a State Department employee, they eventually found freedom on the shores of Hampton Roads in VA. "Nobody Wants Us" tells the story of some of the last refugees allowed into the United States until the end of World War II. With this first-hand account of Holocaust survivors who resettled in the U.S. in 1940, our goal is to create a better understanding of the plight of refugees everywhere.
Nightline follows the journey of Syrian refugees who now call America home. Meet students attending American schools for the first time and see protests against refugee arrivals.
The inside story of Guatemalan teens forced to work against their will in Ohio. An investigation of labor trafficking exposes a criminal network that exploited undocumented minors, companies profiting from forced labor, and the US government’s role.
Examine how El Paso became Trump's immigration testing ground, and then the target of a white supremacist through interviews with border patrol agents, militias, local advocates, and migrants.
Inside the hard-fought battles and secret negotiations over immigration reform on Capitol Hill. Explore President Obama's push for policy changes that could affect the fate of millions and define what it means to be American for decades to come.
On May 6th, 1882—on the eve of the greatest wave of immigration in American history—President Chester A. Arthur signed into law a unique piece of federal legislation. Called the Chinese Exclusion Act, it singled out as never before a specific race and nationality for exclusion, making it illegal for Chinese workers to come to America, and for Chinese nationals already here ever to become citizens of the United States. It is a deeply American story about immigration and national identity, civil rights and human justice; about how we define who can be an American, and what being an American means.
Examines immigration policy under both the Trump and Obama administrations, investigates the origins of zero tolerance, and reveals the journeys and voices of children who were separated from their parents.
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