Independent Lens

The Undocumented

Border Patrol agents, Native Americans, smugglers, ranchers, retirees and Samaritans form a constellation of people engaged with the Arizona/Mexico border on a daily basis—policing it, working it or simply feeling its consequences. But at the center of it all is the migrant. This film tells the story of the migrants who die while trying to cross an unforgiving desert in search of a better life.

Coming to Independent Lens: The Undocumented

30s

Border Patrol agents, Native Americans, smugglers, ranchers, retirees and Samaritans form a constellation of people engaged with the Arizona/Mexico border on a daily basis—policing it, inhabiting it, crossing it, working it, making it safer or simply feeling its consequences. But at the center of it all is the migrants, who sometimes die while trying to cross an unforgiving desert.

  • The Undocumented: A Family Endures the Tragic Side of the Im: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Undocumented: A Family Endures the Tragic Side of the Im

    S14 E13 - 3m 15s

    In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary, The Undocumented by acclaimed filmmaker Marco Williams, a young man describes how his grandmother -- a woman named Blanca -- died while accompanying him during his border crossing. Confronting their grief over this terrible loss, her son says "without a doubt, these are very hard times."

  • The Undocumented: Forensics Cannot Explain Why Mother and Da: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Undocumented: Forensics Cannot Explain Why Mother and Da

    S14 E13 - 1m 45s

    In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary, The Undocumented by acclaimed filmmaker Marco Williams, a forensics expert examines the remains of a mother and her young daughter, explaining that both perished in the desert while migrating to the U.S. However, no one knows why they were left along in the desert, or which of them died first.

  • An Organization Reunites Undocumented Dead with Families: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    An Organization Reunites Undocumented Dead with Families

    S14 E13 - 2m 27s

    In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary, The Undocumented by acclaimed filmmaker Marco Williams, a staff member of the Coalicion de Derechos Humanos describes how the organization keeps records of missing migrants and their recovered bodies. They try to notify the family members of the deceased so that they may be identified, but each year more and more bodies are found.

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