''The Undocumented'' is a 90-minute

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

, released in 2013, directed by Marco Williams, which investigates the causes and effects of migrant deaths along the Arizona-Mexico border.

Synopsis

''The Undocumented'' tells the stories of migrants who have died in the

Arizona desert Arizona is a state in the Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the northwest and California to the west, and ...

and follows them on their long journey home. The film is woven from multiple narrative threads. In

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, it depicts the efforts of the

Pima County, Arizona Pima County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona, one of 15 List of counties in Arizona, counties in the state. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1 ...

Medical Examiner and the Mexican Consulate of

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

to name unidentified deceased border crossers, with the ultimate goal of returning them to their families. It also follows U.S.

Border Patrol, Search, Trauma and Rescue The Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue Unit (BORSTAR) is one of two police tactical units in the Special Operations Group, under the United States Border Patrol (USBP). The unit is trained in emergency search and rescue, medical evacuation ...

(BOSTAR) agents, who must balance

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

with lifesaving. In Mexico, the film documents the reunification of the dead with their families and chronicles stories of loved ones who disappeared while crossing the border, never to be heard from again.

Historical background

According to US Border Patrol statistics, 417 undocumented border crossers died trying to enter the United States in fiscal year 2009, representing the first increase in four years. The majority of migrant deaths occur in Arizona's

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert () is a hot desert and ecoregion in North America that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the Southwestern United States (in Arizona and California). It ...

, with 213 confirmed to have died in the Tucson sector alone in fiscal year 2009. Researchers have attributed the preponderance of migrant deaths in Arizona to a so-called "funnel effect"; they argue that the

militarization Militarization, or militarisation, is the process by which a society organizes itself for military conflict and violence. It is related to militarism, which is an ideology that reflects the level of militarization of a state. The process of mil ...

of the border has caused illegal immigrants to risk crossing through more remote sections of the Arizona desert, leading to a spike in Arizona's migrant deaths, which rose from 9 in 1990 to 201 in 2005.

Production status and broadcast

Principle filming of ''The Undocumented'' took place from June to December 2009.

Post-production Post-production, also known simply as post, is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording indivi ...

began in February 2010, with editor David Meneses and associate producer Thomas Peyton working alongside director Marco Williams. ''The Undocumented'' was produced with support from

ITVS ITVS (Independent Television Service) is a service in the United States which funds and presents documentaries on public television through distribution by PBS and American Public Television, new media projects on the Internet, and the weekly ...

, the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

, and the Fledgling Fund. Produced for

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

, it aired in the USA on 6 April 2013.*

References

External links

*
theundocumented.com
Official website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Undocumented Mexico–United States border American documentary television films History of Arizona Documentary films about illegal immigration to the United States Documentary films about Mexico