Immigration Nation: A Review

In August of 2020 a new documentary was added to Netflix. It is a six-part docuseries titled Immigration Nation. The main focus of this series was to hone in on the intense immigration enforcement that took place under former President Trump’s term from 2016 up until 2020. Film-makers Christina Clusiau and Shaul Schwarz swiftly became bombarded with intimidation tactics followed by lawsuits as an attempt from the federal government to block the publication of specific scenes the public has never seen before. However, Clusiau and Schwarz went ahead with the publication and allowed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as well as officials to explain how they view the situation at hand. The documentary exposed how agents are vile and boast about seizing someone rather than hiding their feelings or acting as if what they must do upsets them. Although there are many documentaries similar to this one Immigration Nation provided ICE agents with a platform to speak their mind which led to them essentially telling on themselves a multitude of times letting the truth reign free. In the pilot episode for this series the director for the International Refugee Assistance Project, Becca Heller, summed up the series: “The brilliance of the system is that their job has been siphoned off in such a way that what they see day-to-day seems justified,” she continued on to say; “But when you add up all of the people ‘just doing their job’, it becomes this crazy, terrorizing system.” (Clusiau & Schwarz, 2020). Heller simplifies the series with these words and makes clear what the intent behind creating this documentary. As a whole the creators hone in on how workers are able to justify their wrong doings and how it has affected immigrant families along the way as well in an attempt to fully grasp the situation at hand.

The United States (U.S) implemented the bureaucratic job, an ICE agent, to work in order to prevent illegal immigration into the U.S. and also protect the nation from the trafficking of unlawful goods from other countries (Roufa, 2019) however, this has quickly turned sour over the years. The idea of ICE and many other bureaucracies tend to evoke images of corruption and government overreach but, in other cases it may convey ideas of helpfulness and government management instead (Krutz, 2016). It is known that ICE is a bureaucratic system however, many don’t fully understand what that means in general and in terms of government involvement. A bureaucracy can be defined as: an administrative group of nonelected officials charged with carrying out functions connected to a series of policies and programs (Krutz, 2016). In short, people are hired to do a job in which the government tells them what to do. Essentially, this is how ICE works based on the description the agents provided in the documentary. When asked why they work as an ICE agent many, if not all, responded with “I’m just doing my job” (Clusiau & Schwarz, 2020) in an attempt to justify their heinous actions. Similar to the civil service exams which currently test for skills necessary for clerical workers, postal service workers, military personnel, health and social workers, and accounting and engineering employees among others (Krutz, 2016) immigrants wanting to come into the country must also take an exam. Rather than testing their skills to be an efficient employee for particular jobs this exam tests their knowledge about an unwelcoming country and they must pass or they are denied entry. Although this may sound fairly easy the process can take years to complete leaving immigrants to reside in this nation with constant fear for their lives while they await the next process to take place. This is another aspect of the docuseries where they discuss how strenuous becoming a U.S. citizen truly is and why many families choose, or end up, living as immigrants for the rest of their lives solely to live in the nation of the free and opportunity.

As someone who is part Venezuelan and part Spanish this docuseries truly hit home for me in a multitude of ways and I believe it is paramount for American citizens to watch even a snippet of it to better understand us. Growing up I watched as my grandparents and other family members fought to gain their citizenship in a country that doesn’t care for them. My grandparents came here when they were young, roughly in their twenties, and it took them up until their sixties to gain citizenship to this country. Over that time span they lived in fear when this country was meant to represent opportunities and freedom to those that seek it. Despite trying to become citizens they always faced hardships of people calling them illegal and trying to get ICE to deport them because they were merely “different.” Growing up I have constantly been asked if I am a legal citizen of the country I was born in. I get asked, frequently I might add, if my parents are illegal immigrants or not although they were both born here as well. When I say I was born and raised here just like my parents I get looks of shock as if that’s simply not possible for a Hispanic person to be born in the U.S. and live here their entire life. It is disheartening to receive these questions and get looks when I am out in public. However, this is my reality and the sad reality for real immigrants as well. Immigration Nation shines a necessary light on the prevalent issues and exposes those who aid in its continuation. To fully understand what it is like living in this nation as a so-called “immigrant” despite being born on this soil, you must watch this docuseries. It is educational on so many fronts and discusses issues that are cardinal to today’s day and age. Watching this made me reflect on my own experiences and sympathize with those who aren’t lucky enough to be citizens of this country.