Closed Captioned
Study Guide
Grades 10-12, College, Adult
Directed by David Belle and Nicholas Wrathall
Produced by Crowing Rooster Arts
DVD Purchase $79, Rent $45
US Release Date: 2000
Copyright Date: 2000
DVD ISBN: 1-59458-418-4
VHS ISBN: 1-56029-880-0
Subjects
American Democracy
American Studies
Criminology
Ethics
History
Human Rights
Humanities
Immigration
International Studies
Law
Migration and Refugees
Social Justice
Social Psychology
Sociology
Awards and Festivals
Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award
Bronze Plaque, Columbus International Film Festival
Human Rights Watch Film Festival
South by Southwest Film Festival
Philadelphia International Film Festival
Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival
Vermont International Film Festival
Seoul Human Rights Film Festival
Honorable Mention, South Bronx Film and Video Festival
Stony Brook Film Festival
Crested Butte Reel Fest
Fordham Univ. School of Law, Lawyers Committee for Human Rights
Hope & Dreams Film Festival
Louisville Film Festival
Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival
Maryland Film Festival
Bellingham Human Rights Film Festival
The Betrayal of America's Immigrants
Exposé of the horrifying results of the 1996 immigration law.
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"A powerful argument for the urgent need to reform immigration laws." Human Rights Watch Film Festival |
This film illustrates the most recent wave of anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States. Through a close look at the personal impact of new immigration laws, this film depicts the severity of current detention and deportation policies. Lives are changed forever, as legal residents find themselves being torn away from their American families and sent to countries they barely know. For political asylum seekers, dreams are put on hold, as they are kept for years in county jails that profit from their incarceration.
A half-hour version and Spanish version are available.
Reviews
"Through intimate, often passionate interviews, and shocking footage of detainees' treatment behind bars, filmmakers Belle and Wrathall build a powerful argument for the urgent need to reform immigration laws before more lives are ruined and more families torn apart."
Human Rights Watch Film Festival
"ABANDONED looks at a 1996 law that allows for the Immigration and Naturalization Service to imprison legal permanent residents and asylum applicants. 'They can't do that,' say the astounded victims of this unjust law -- and so will you."
IndieWire
"An eye-opening experience for anyone who believed America's immigration laws were fair and basic to the cause of those seeking freedom in the United States. Using documented cases of legal immigrants, some of whom have spent nearly their entire lives in the U.S., the film makers show how flawed the legal system has become during the past decade. If you had any doubt xenophobia was a thing of the past, I strongly recommend you watch this film."
Ken Muir, Professor of Sociology, Appalachian State University