The 800 Mile Wall

This powerful film observes the effects of the construction of walls along the border between the United States and Mexico, intended to reduce the numbers of undocumented migrants who cross from Mexico into this country. Through interviews with immigration experts, members of advocacy groups, and a former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) commissioner, and footage from Congress and the U.S. border patrol, Frey's film demonstrates how the fence strategy evolved and how artificial barriers have failed at their goal. It exposes the reasons for the dramatic increase in the number of fatalities at crossing sites and makes good use of personal stories and testimony of individual migrants. Fleeting but graphic footage of human remains is appropriately disturbing and works to reinforce the tragic impact of the fence policy. A brief discussion of Canada's more humane approach of hiring seasonal agricultural workers from Mexico is a helpful starting point for conversation about alternative solutions. Recommended where there is interest and particularly for communities where undocumented migration is an issue.—Joan Pedzich, Harris Beach PLLC, Rochester, NY