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= Culture: watch, listen, read =
= Culture: watch, listen, read =
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''A community-curated shelf of films, documentaries, music and books about immigration, detention and the fight for immigrant justice. These are cultural recommendations — kept deliberately separate from [[:Category:Deaths by immigration enforcement|the documented record]] on this site.''
''A community-curated library of film, documentaries, music and writing about immigration, detention and the fight for immigrant justice. These are cultural recommendations — kept deliberately separate from [[:Category:Deaths by immigration enforcement|the documented record]] on this site.''


'''Know something we're missing? [[ICE List:Contribute|Recommend a title →]]'''
'''Know something we're missing? [[ICE List:Recommend a title|Recommend a title →]]'''


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{{Culture pick|type=podcast|title=How ICE Is Targeting Students for Deportation|year=2026|creator=Behind the Bastards|blurb=An episode of Robert Evans’s history/comedy podcast Behind the Bastards examining how ICE targets international and student-visa holders for deportation.}}
{{Culture pick|type=podcast|title=How ICE Became So Deadly|year=2026|creator=The Guardian · Stateside with Kai Wright|blurb=The Guardian’s Stateside podcast: Kai Wright speaks with immigration reporter José Olivares about how ICE became so deadly, after officers killed two immigrants in separate shootings in Texas and Maine..}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=ICE Brutality - State Violence and the Machinery of Fear|year=2026|creator=Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute, Hunter College|blurb=A recorded public panel from Roosevelt House at Hunter College examining ICE as an instrument of state violence and the deliberate machinery of fear driving mass immigration enforcement..}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Immigration Nation|year=2020|creator=Netflix docuseries|blurb=Filmmakers embed with ICE for three years, capturing raids, deportations and the human toll from inside the agency.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_Nation}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Immigration Nation|year=2020|creator=Netflix docuseries|blurb=Filmmakers embed with ICE for three years, capturing raids, deportations and the human toll from inside the agency.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_Nation}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=The Infiltrators|year=2019|creator=Cristina Ibarra & Alex Rivera|blurb=Young activists deliberately get detained to organize from inside a for-profit detention center — part doc, part reenactment.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Infiltrators}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=The Infiltrators|year=2019|creator=Cristina Ibarra & Alex Rivera|blurb=Young activists deliberately get detained to organize from inside a for-profit detention center.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Infiltrators|cover=Coverart-the-infiltrators.jpg|featured=yes}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Which Way Home|year=2009|creator=Rebecca Cammisa|blurb=Follows unaccompanied children riding freight trains north toward the US border.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Which_Way_Home}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Which Way Home|year=2009|creator=Rebecca Cammisa|blurb=Follows unaccompanied children riding freight trains north toward the US border.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Which_Way_Home|cover=Coverart-which-way-home.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=Sin Nombre|year=2009|creator=Cary Joji Fukunaga|blurb=A Honduran teen and a gang defector cross Mexico by train in a tense migrant-journey drama.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sin_nombre_(2009_film)}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=Sin Nombre|year=2009|creator=Cary Joji Fukunaga|blurb=A Honduran teen and a gang defector cross Mexico by train in a tense migrant-journey drama.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sin_nombre_(2009_film)|cover=Coverart-sin-nombre.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=A Better Life|year=2011|creator=Chris Weitz|blurb=An undocumented gardener in Los Angeles risks everything to build a future for his son.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Better_Life}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=A Better Life|year=2011|creator=Chris Weitz|blurb=An undocumented gardener in Los Angeles risks everything to build a future for his son.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Better_Life}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=The Visitor|year=2007|creator=Tom McCarthy|blurb=A widowed professor is drawn into the immigration-detention system after befriending an undocumented couple.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Visitor_(2007_drama_film)}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=The Visitor|year=2007|creator=Tom McCarthy|blurb=A widowed professor is drawn into the immigration-detention system after befriending an undocumented couple.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Visitor_(2007_drama_film)|cover=Coverart-the-visitor.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=Blue Bayou|year=2021|creator=Justin Chon|blurb=A Korean-American adoptee raised in Louisiana faces deportation to a country he never knew.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Bayou_(film)}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=Blue Bayou|year=2021|creator=Justin Chon|blurb=A Korean-American adoptee raised in Louisiana faces deportation to a country he never knew.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Bayou_(film)|cover=Coverart-blue-bayou.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)|year=1948|creator=Woody Guthrie|blurb=Written after a plane crash killed 28 deported farmworkers the press left unnamed — the original migrant-justice protest song.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportee_(Plane_Wreck_at_Los_Gatos)}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)|year=1948|creator=Woody Guthrie|blurb=Written after a crash killed 28 deported farmworkers the press left unnamed — the original migrant-justice protest song.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportee_(Plane_Wreck_at_Los_Gatos)|cover=Coverart-deportee-plane-wreck-at-los-gatos.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=Clandestino|year=1998|creator=Manu Chao|blurb=The anthem of the undocumented — "vivo en el corazón de la babilonia" — sung from the migrant’s point of view.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clandestino_(Manu_Chao_song)}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=Clandestino|year=1998|creator=Manu Chao|blurb=The anthem of the undocumented, sung from the migrant’s point of view.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clandestino_(Manu_Chao_song)}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=Borders|year=2015|creator=M.I.A.|blurb=A blunt, viral single and video confronting the global migration crisis and border politics.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borders_(M.I.A._song)}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=Borders|year=2015|creator=M.I.A.|blurb=A blunt, viral single and video confronting the global migration crisis and border politics.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borders_(M.I.A._song)|cover=Coverart-borders.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=Los Tigres del Norte|year=1968–|creator=Norteño corridos|blurb=Decades of migration corridos — "La Jaula de Oro," "Tres Veces Mojado" — that turned the immigrant experience into folk history.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Tigres_del_Norte}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=Los Tigres del Norte|year=1968–|creator=Norteño corridos|blurb=Decades of migration corridos — "La Jaula de Oro," "Tres Veces Mojado" — that turned the immigrant experience into folk history.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Tigres_del_Norte|cover=Coverart-los-tigres-del-norte.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=The Devil’s Highway|year=2004|creator=Luis Alberto Urrea|blurb=The true story of 26 men who crossed the Arizona desert and the 14 who died — a landmark of border reporting.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devil%27s_Highway}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=The Devil’s Highway|year=2004|creator=Luis Alberto Urrea|blurb=The true story of 26 men who crossed the Arizona desert and the 14 who died — a landmark of border reporting.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devil%27s_Highway}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=The Undocumented Americans|year=2020|creator=Karla Cornejo Villavicencio|blurb=A fierce, literary account of undocumented life beyond the headlines, by a formerly undocumented writer.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Undocumented_Americans}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=The Undocumented Americans|year=2020|creator=Karla Cornejo Villavicencio|blurb=A fierce, literary account of undocumented life beyond the headlines, by a formerly undocumented writer.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Undocumented_Americans|cover=Coverart-the-undocumented-americans.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=Tell Me How It Ends|year=2017|creator=Valeria Luiselli|blurb=An essay built from the 40 questions asked of child migrants in immigration court.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valeria_Luiselli}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=Tell Me How It Ends|year=2017|creator=Valeria Luiselli|blurb=An essay built from the 40 questions asked of child migrants in immigration court.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valeria_Luiselli|cover=Coverart-tell-me-how-it-ends.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Podcast|title=Radio Ambulante|year=2011–|creator=NPR (Spanish)|blurb=Long-form Latin American and US-Latino stories, many tracing migration and its aftermath.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Ambulante}}
{{Culture pick|type=Podcast|title=Radio Ambulante|year=2011–|creator=NPR (Spanish)|blurb=Long-form Latin American and US-Latino stories, many tracing migration and its aftermath.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Ambulante}}
{{Culture pick|type=Podcast|title=Latino USA|year=1993–|creator=NPR / Futuro Media|blurb=The long-running radio show and podcast covering immigration, enforcement and Latino life in the US.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latino_USA}}
{{Culture pick|type=Podcast|title=Latino USA|year=1993–|creator=NPR / Futuro Media|blurb=The long-running radio show and podcast covering immigration, enforcement and Latino life in the US.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latino_USA}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Separated|year=2024|creator=Errol Morris|blurb=Investigates the Trump administration's family-separation policy through interviews and reenactments, based on Jacob Soboroff's book.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separated_(film)|cover=Coverart-separated.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Fire at Sea|year=2016|creator=Gianfranco Rosi|blurb=Golden Bear winner at Berlin and Oscar-nominated portrait of the migrant crisis on the Italian island of Lampedusa.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_at_Sea|cover=Coverart-fire-at-sea.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Human Flow|year=2017|creator=Ai Weiwei|blurb=Filmed over a year in 23 countries following some of the world's forcibly displaced people; premiered in competition at Venice.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Flow|cover=Coverart-human-flow.png}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Midnight Traveler|year=2019|creator=Hassan Fazili|blurb=An Afghan family films their own flight from the Taliban on three phones.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_Traveler|cover=Coverart-midnight-traveler.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Flee|year=2021|creator=Jonas Poher Rasmussen|blurb=Animated documentary of a gay Afghan refugee; first film Oscar-nominated for Animated, Documentary and International Feature at once.|link=https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/flee}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Stateless|year=2020|creator=Michèle Stephenson|blurb=Follows Dominicans of Haitian descent after a 2013 court ruling stripped citizenship, rendering over 200,000 people stateless.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stateless_(film)}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=The Facility|year=2021|creator=Seth Freed Wessler|blurb=Short film shot via video calls inside a Georgia ICE detention center during COVID-19.|link=https://time.com/6121979/immigrants-ice-facility-film/}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Borderland: The Line Within|year=2024|creator=Pamela Yates|blurb=Examines the profit-driven "border industrial complex" of immigration enforcement.|link=https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/borderland-cbp-raid-humanitarian-aid-camp/}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Who Is Dayani Cristal?|year=2013|creator=Marc Silver|blurb=Traces an unidentified migrant's body found in the Arizona desert; features Gael García Bernal.|link=https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/who-is-dayani-cristal}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=God Grew Tired of Us|year=2006|creator=Christopher Dillon Quinn|blurb=Follows three "Lost Boys of Sudan" from a Kenyan refugee camp to U.S. resettlement.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Grew_Tired_of_Us|cover=Coverart-god-grew-tired-of-us.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=The Donut King|year=2020|creator=Alice Gu|blurb=Cambodian refugee Ted Ngoy builds a California donut empire and sponsors fellow refugees.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Donut_King|cover=Coverart-the-donut-king.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Lost in Detention|year=2011|creator=FRONTLINE (PBS)|blurb=Investigates abuse in immigrant detention and the Secure Communities program.|link=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/lost-in-detention/}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Caught in the Crackdown|year=2025|creator=FRONTLINE / ProPublica|blurb=Investigates the treatment of protesters and bystanders during Trump-era immigration sweeps.|link=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/caught-in-the-crackdown/}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=For Sama|year=2019|creator=Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts|blurb=A mother's first-person chronicle of the Aleppo siege and the decision to flee.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_Sama|cover=Coverart-for-sama.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Si Bondye vle, Yuli (God Willing, Yuli)|year=2016|creator=Jean Jean|blurb=A Haitian woman in the Dominican Republic fights to regularize status and avoid deportation; Amnesty prize winner. (Limited availability.)|link=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/09/new-documentary-on-migration-and-discrimination-in-hispaniola-wins-amnesty-prize/}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Whose Land? O'odham Land!|year=2021|creator=Tohono O'odham community filmmakers|blurb=Documents how the border wall divides the Tohono O'odham Nation and desecrates ancestral sites. (Limited availability.)|link=https://www.documentary.org/project/whose-land-oodham-land}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=El mar la mar|year=2017|creator=J.P. Sniadecki, Joshua Bonnetta|blurb=Experimental 16mm portrait of the Sonoran Desert and its border crossings. (Limited availability.)|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_mar_la_mar}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Notturno|year=2020|creator=Gianfranco Rosi|blurb=Meditative portrait of life along Middle Eastern borders scarred by war and displacement.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notturno_(film)|cover=Coverart-notturno.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=El Norte|year=1983|creator=Gregory Nava|blurb=Foundational film following Maya siblings fleeing Guatemala to "the North."|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Norte_(1983_film)|cover=Coverart-el-norte.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=Gran Torino|year=2008|creator=Clint Eastwood|blurb=A veteran's bond with his Hmong refugee neighbors confronts his prejudice.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gran_Torino|cover=Coverart-gran-torino.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=Maria Full of Grace|year=2004|creator=Joshua Marston|blurb=A pregnant Colombian teen becomes a drug mule bound for New York.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Full_of_Grace|cover=Coverart-maria-full-of-grace.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=The Swimmers|year=2022|creator=Sally El Hosaini|blurb=True story of Syrian sisters Yusra and Sara Mardini fleeing to Europe by sea.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Swimmers_(2022_film)|cover=Coverart-the-swimmers.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=Io Capitano|year=2023|creator=Matteo Garrone|blurb=Two Senegalese teens' journey across the Sahara and Mediterranean to Italy; Silver Lion winner and Oscar nominee.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Io_Capitano|cover=Coverart-io-capitano.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=Minari|year=2020|creator=Lee Isaac Chung|blurb=A Korean American family starts a farm in 1980s Arkansas.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minari_(film)|cover=Coverart-minari.png}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=Under the Same Moon (La Misma Luna)|year=2007|creator=Patricia Riggen|blurb=A boy crosses the border to find his undocumented mother working in Los Angeles.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_the_Same_Moon|cover=Coverart-under-the-same-moon-la-misma-luna.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=Mo|year=2022|creator=Mo Amer, Ramy Youssef|blurb=Semi-autobiographical comedy of a Palestinian family awaiting asylum in Houston.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mo_(TV_series)|cover=Coverart-mo.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=Party of Five|year=2020|creator=Amy Lippman, Christopher Keyser|blurb=Five siblings fend for themselves after their parents are deported to Mexico.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_of_Five_(2020_TV_series)}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=First They Killed My Father|year=2017|creator=Angelina Jolie|blurb=A child's survival under the Khmer Rouge, based on Loung Ung's memoir.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_They_Killed_My_Father_(film)|cover=Coverart-first-they-killed-my-father.png}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=The Good Lie|year=2014|creator=Philippe Falardeau|blurb=Sudanese war orphans resettle in the American Midwest; features real former Lost Boys.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_Lie|cover=Coverart-the-good-lie.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=Persepolis|year=2007|creator=Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud|blurb=Animated memoir of a girl's exile from revolutionary Iran to Europe.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persepolis_(film)|cover=Coverart-persepolis.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=Dheepan|year=2015|creator=Jacques Audiard|blurb=Tamil refugees pose as a family to seek asylum in France; Palme d'Or winner.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dheepan|cover=Coverart-dheepan.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=The Namesake|year=2006|creator=Mira Nair|blurb=A Bengali immigrant family navigates identity across generations in New York.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Namesake_(film)|cover=Coverart-the-namesake.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=My Beautiful Laundrette|year=1985|creator=Stephen Frears|blurb=A young British-Pakistani man and his lover confront racism in Thatcher-era London.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Beautiful_Laundrette|cover=Coverart-my-beautiful-laundrette.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=Sleep Dealer|year=2008|creator=Alex Rivera|blurb=Sci-fi imagining a future of "virtual" migrant labor across a militarized border.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_Dealer|cover=Coverart-sleep-dealer.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=In the Heights|year=2021|creator=Jon M. Chu|blurb=Musical of a Dominican American neighborhood in Washington Heights, including an undocumented character.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Heights_(film)|cover=Coverart-in-the-heights.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=The Brutalist|year=2024|creator=Brady Corbet|blurb=A Hungarian Jewish architect rebuilds his life in postwar America.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brutalist|cover=Coverart-the-brutalist.png}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=Brooklyn|year=2015|creator=John Crowley|blurb=An Irish immigrant builds a new life in 1950s Brooklyn.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_(film)|cover=Coverart-brooklyn.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=I'm No Longer Here (Ya no estoy aquí)|year=2019|creator=Fernando Frías de la Parra|blurb=A Monterrey teen flees cartel threats to an isolating exile in New York.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27m_No_Longer_Here|cover=Coverart-i-m-no-longer-here-ya-no-estoy-aqu.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=Identifying Features (Sin señas particulares)|year=2020|creator=Fernanda Valadez|blurb=A mother searches for her son who vanished migrating north.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identifying_Features|cover=Coverart-identifying-features-sin-se-as-particulares.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=Little America|year=2020|creator=Kumail Nanjiani, Emily V. Gordon, Lee Eisenberg|blurb=Anthology series dramatizing true stories of immigrants in America.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_America_(TV_series)}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=El Hielo (ICE)|year=2013|creator=La Santa Cecilia|blurb=Narrates three undocumented workers living under the constant fear of ICE.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Hielo_(ICE)}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=Immigrants (We Get the Job Done)|year=2016|creator=K'naan feat. Residente, Riz MC, Snow Tha Product|blurb=Hip-hop anthem on immigrant labor from The Hamilton Mixtape.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigrants_(We_Get_the_Job_Done)|cover=Coverart-immigrants-we-get-the-job-done.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=Debí Tirar Más Fotos|year=2025|creator=Bad Bunny|blurb=Album engaging displacement and diaspora; its opening track voices a message defending immigrants.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuevayol}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=La Bala / 1977|year=2010|creator=Ana Tijoux|blurb=Rapper born to Chilean exiles whose work engages exile, identity and injustice.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ana_Tijoux|cover=Coverart-la-bala-1977.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=Clandestino (Al Chile version)|year=2019|creator=Lila Downs|blurb=Reworks Manu Chao's song to address detained migrant children at the U.S. border.|link=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-latin/lila-downs-manu-chao-clandestino-al-chile-823647/}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=Across the Borderline|year=1987|creator=Ry Cooder, John Hiatt, Jim Dickinson|blurb=Ballad about the perils and false promises awaiting those who cross into the U.S.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Across_the_Borderline|cover=Coverart-across-the-borderline.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=City of Immigrants|year=2007|creator=Steve Earle|blurb=Celebrates New York as a city built by immigrants.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Square_Serenade|cover=Coverart-city-of-immigrants.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=A Safe Place to Land|year=2019|creator=Sara Bareilles feat. John Legend|blurb=Ballad about families and children seeking refuge at the southern border.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Safe_Place_to_Land|cover=Coverart-a-safe-place-to-land.png}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=Matamoros Banks|year=2005|creator=Bruce Springsteen|blurb=Traces, in reverse, a migrant who drowns crossing the Rio Grande.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devils_%26_Dust|cover=Coverart-matamoros-banks.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=Across the Wire|year=2003|creator=Calexico|blurb=Border-rock song depicting a desert crossing into Arizona.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_Wire|cover=Coverart-across-the-wire.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=The Immigrants|year=2018|creator=Gaby Moreno & Van Dyke Parks|blurb=Single condemning the family-separation policy and detention conditions.|link=https://www.npr.org/sections/altlatino/2018/07/11/626537505/protesting-trumps-immigration-policy-through-song}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=Pa'l Norte|year=2007|creator=Calle 13 feat. Orishas|blurb=Hymn to the migrant's northward journey and resilience.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pa%27l_Norte|cover=Coverart-pa-l-norte.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=Frijolero|year=2003|creator=Molotov|blurb=Confronts anti-Mexican racism and border hypocrisy from both sides.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frijolero}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=Mojado|year=2005|creator=Ricardo Arjona|blurb=Ballad following an undocumented migrant's dangerous crossing north.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Arjona|cover=Coverart-mojado.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=Refugee|year=2023|creator=K'naan|blurb=Song reclaiming the word "refugee," released for World Refugee Day.|link=https://www.musicinafrica.net/magazine/refugee-knaan-and-call-humanise-struggle-millions}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=This Is Not America|year=2022|creator=Residente feat. Ibeyi|blurb=Critiques U.S. hegemony and the treatment of Latin American migrants.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Is_Not_America_(Residente_song)|cover=Coverart-this-is-not-america.png}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=Will the Wolf Survive?|year=1984|creator=Los Lobos|blurb=Chicano-rock meditation on survival and the immigrant's precarious place.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_the_Wolf_Survive_(song)|cover=Coverart-will-the-wolf-survive.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=Immigrés|year=1988|creator=Youssou N'Dour|blurb=Title track addressing African emigrants living far from home.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigr%C3%A9s|cover=Coverart-immigr-s.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=Ya Rayah|year=1993|creator=Rachid Taha|blurb=Iconic chaabi song about the sorrow of the emigrant who leaves home.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ya_Rayah|cover=Coverart-ya-rayah.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=Land of the Free|year=2019|creator=The Killers|blurb=Politically charged song critiquing the border wall and inequality.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_of_the_Free_(The_Killers_song)|cover=Coverart-land-of-the-free.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=The Line Becomes a River|year=2018|creator=Francisco Cantú|blurb=Memoir by a former Border Patrol agent reckoning with the human cost of enforcement.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Cant%C3%BA}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=Exit West|year=2017|creator=Mohsin Hamid|blurb=Novel using magical "doors" to render the universality of migration and displacement.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit_West|cover=Coverart-exit-west.png}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=Solito|year=2022|creator=Javier Zamora|blurb=Memoir of the author's solo journey at age nine from El Salvador to the U.S.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solito:_A_Memoir|cover=Coverart-solito.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=Lost Children Archive|year=2019|creator=Valeria Luiselli|blurb=Novel interweaving a family road trip with the child-migrant crisis at the border.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Children_Archive|cover=Coverart-lost-children-archive.png}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=The Book of Unknown Americans|year=2014|creator=Cristina Henríquez|blurb=Interwoven testimonies of Latin American immigrant families in Delaware.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Unknown_Americans|cover=Coverart-the-book-of-unknown-americans.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=Behold the Dreamers|year=2016|creator=Imbolo Mbue|blurb=Novel of a Cameroonian family in New York during the 2008 crash, facing deportation.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behold_the_Dreamers|cover=Coverart-behold-the-dreamers.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=The Best We Could Do|year=2017|creator=Thi Bui|blurb=Graphic memoir of a Vietnamese "boat people" family's escape and resettlement.|link=https://www.arts.gov/initiatives/nea-big-read/best-we-could-do-illustrated-memoir}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=Brother, I'm Dying|year=2007|creator=Edwidge Danticat|blurb=Memoir including the author's uncle, who died in U.S. immigration detention.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother,_I%27m_Dying|cover=Coverart-brother-i-m-dying.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here|year=2024|creator=Jonathan Blitzer|blurb=Narrative history of U.S.–Central America relations and the making of the migration crisis.|link=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/625425/everyone-who-is-gone-is-here-by-jonathan-blitzer/}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=No Friend But the Mountains|year=2018|creator=Behrouz Boochani|blurb=Memoir written by phone from Australia's Manus Island detention center.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Friend_But_the_Mountains|cover=Coverart-no-friend-but-the-mountains.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=Enrique's Journey|year=2006|creator=Sonia Nazario|blurb=Pulitzer-based account of a Honduran boy riding freight trains to find his mother.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrique%27s_Journey|cover=Coverart-enrique-s-journey.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=The Sympathizer|year=2015|creator=Viet Thanh Nguyen|blurb=Pulitzer-winning novel of a Vietnamese refugee and double agent after Saigon's fall.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sympathizer|cover=Coverart-the-sympathizer.png}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen|year=2018|creator=Jose Antonio Vargas|blurb=Memoir on living undocumented and hiding from the government.|link=https://www.harpercollins.com/products/dear-america-jose-antonio-vargas}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=Americanah|year=2013|creator=Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie|blurb=Novel on race and immigration following a Nigerian woman in the U.S. and her love's undocumented life in the UK.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americanah|cover=Coverart-americanah.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=The Land of Open Graves|year=2015|creator=Jason De León|blurb=Anthropological account of migrant deaths in the Sonoran Desert.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Land_of_Open_Graves|cover=Coverart-the-land-of-open-graves.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=Catalina|year=2024|creator=Karla Cornejo Villavicencio|blurb=Novel of an undocumented Ecuadorian girl coming of age at Harvard.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karla_Cornejo_Villavicencio|cover=Coverart-catalina.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=Infinite Country|year=2021|creator=Patricia Engel|blurb=Novel of a Colombian American family split apart by immigration policy.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_Engel}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=Separated: Inside an American Tragedy|year=2020|creator=Jacob Soboroff|blurb=Investigative account of the family-separation policy.|link=https://www.harpercollins.com/products/separated-jacob-soboroff}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=Call Me American|year=2018|creator=Abdi Nor Iftin|blurb=Memoir of a Somali man who won the visa lottery and resettled in Maine.|link=https://www.callmeamerican.com/}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=The Distance Between Us|year=2012|creator=Reyna Grande|blurb=Memoir of a girl left behind in Mexico, then crossing to reunite with family.|link=https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Distance-Between-Us/Reyna-Grande/9781451661781}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=Children of the Land|year=2020|creator=Marcelo Hernandez Castillo|blurb=Poet's memoir of growing up undocumented amid raids and deportation.|link=https://www.harpercollins.com/products/children-of-the-land-marcelo-hernandez-castillo}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=A Good Provider Is One Who Leaves|year=2019|creator=Jason DeParle|blurb=Follows one Filipino family across three decades and continents of migration.|link=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/316096/a-good-provider-is-one-who-leaves-by-jason-deparle/}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=The Death of Josseline|year=2010|creator=Margaret Regan|blurb=Reportage on migrant deaths and enforcement in the Arizona borderlands.|link=https://www.beacon.org/The-Death-of-Josseline-P792.aspx}}
{{Culture pick|type=Podcast|title=The Out Crowd|year=2019|creator=This American Life|blurb=Pulitzer-winning reporting on the "Remain in Mexico" policy — the first Pulitzer ever awarded for audio journalism.|link=https://www.thisamericanlife.org/688/the-out-crowd}}
{{Culture pick|type=Podcast|title=Indefensible|year=2017|creator=Immigrant Defense Project|blurb=Five-part series on people fighting deportation after the 1996 immigration laws.|link=https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/indefensible/}}
{{Culture pick|type=Podcast|title=Displaced|year=2018|creator=International Rescue Committee|blurb=Interviews on the global refugee crisis and resettlement policy.|link=https://www.rescue.org/displaced}}
{{Culture pick|type=Podcast|title=Resettled|year=2020|creator=VPM (host Ahmed Badr)|blurb=Follows refugees adjusting to new lives in Virginia.|link=https://www.vpm.org/resettled}}
{{Culture pick|type=Podcast|title=The Raid Podcast|year=2025|creator=John Carlos Frey|blurb=Frontline reporting on ICE and Border Patrol immigration raids.|link=https://castbox.fm/channel/The-Raid-Podcast}}
{{Culture pick|type=Podcast|title=Immigrantly|year=2018|creator=Saadia Khan|blurb=Interviews deconstructing stereotypes of immigrants and children of immigrants.|link=https://www.immigrantlypod.com/}}
{{Culture pick|type=Podcast|title=Asylum Speakers|year=2019|creator=Jaz O'Hara|blurb=Amplifies first-person stories of asylum, migration and displacement worldwide.|link=https://player.fm/series/asylum-speakers}}
{{Culture pick|type=Podcast|title=Define American|year=2020|creator=Jose Antonio Vargas / Define American|blurb=Explores undocumented life, DACA and immigration policy.|link=https://defineamerican.com/}}
{{Culture pick|type=Podcast|title=Temporary|year=2021|creator=SYN Media|blurb=Eight-part series on asylum seekers caught in Australia's "stop the boats" limbo.|link=https://player.fm/podcasts/Asylum-Seekers}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=The Golden Dream|year=2013|creator=Diego Quemada-Díez|blurb=Guatemalan and Mexican teenagers risk the perilous journey north toward the U.S. border.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Dream}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Status: Venezuelan|year=2025|creator=ProPublica / FRONTLINE|blurb=One Venezuelan family in Florida fights to keep legal status amid the Trump deportation crackdown.|link=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/venezuela-family-immigration-policy-donald-trump-florida/}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Surviving CECOT|year=2025|creator=ProPublica & FRONTLINE|blurb=Three Venezuelan men with no convictions, branded Tren de Aragua and deported to El Salvador's CECOT prison, describe the abuse inside.|link=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/surviving-cecot/}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=The Deal: Trump, Bukele and the Gangs of El Salvador|year=2026|creator=FRONTLINE / El Faro|blurb=Investigates the deal behind deporting mostly-Venezuelan detainees from the US to CECOT, and what Bukele stood to gain.|link=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/documentary-trump-bukele-cecot-deal/}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Everybody to Kenmure Street|year=2026|creator=Felipe Bustos Sierra|blurb=Reconstructs the 2021 Glasgow community blockade that stopped a Home Office immigration raid on Eid; Sundance 2026 Civil Resistance jury award. (Festival release - check distribution.)|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everybody_to_Kenmure_Street|cover=Coverart-everybody-to-kenmure-street.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Shouldering Sanctuary|year=2026|creator=Chicago filmmakers|blurb=Chronicles Chicago under intensified ICE enforcement, from Broadview detention protests to immigration court. (Work in progress; limited screenings.)|link=https://chicago.suntimes.com/movies-and-tv/2026/01/14/ice-documentary-chicago-shouldering-sanctuary}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Running to Stand Still|year=2025|creator=Bob Bilheimer & Heidi Ostertag|blurb=Follows migrants' journeys at the southern border amid the deportation crackdown.|link=https://www.pbs.org/video/amid-buzz-about-ice-deportations-a-new-film-spotlights-migrants-kj8m8e}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=Dreaming of Home|year=2025|creator=Cristina Jiménez|blurb=Memoir by the United We Dream co-founder on growing up undocumented in Queens and building the immigrant-youth movement that won DACA.|link=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/211004685-dreaming-of-home}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=Migrant God|year=2025|creator=Isaac Villegas|blurb=Front-line account of Christian immigrant-justice activism from Tijuana to Arizona to North Carolina; 2026 PROSE Award.|link=https://charisbooksandmore.com/booklist-about-us-border-crisis}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=Undue Process|year=2025|creator=Julia Ainsley|blurb=Reporting on the Trump mass-deportation program by NBC's senior homeland-security correspondent.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search/Undue%20Process}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=Simón|year=2023|creator=Diego Vicentini|blurb=A young protester flees Venezuela and fights deportation while seeking asylum in Miami; Goya-nominated.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sim%C3%B3n_(2023_film)}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Children of the Darién Gap|year=2023|creator=John Holman / Al Jazeera|blurb=Follows a Venezuelan family crossing the Darién Gap toward the US.|link=https://www.aljazeera.com/program/featured-documentaries/}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=It Would Be Night in Caracas|year=2019|creator=Karina Sainz Borgo|blurb=A woman survives collapse and prepares to flee Caracas — the signature Venezuelan-exodus novel in English translation.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Would_Be_Night_in_Caracas}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=Me Rehúso|year=2016|creator=Danny Ocean|blurb=Breakout single that became a diaspora anthem about leaving a partner and country behind during the Venezuelan exodus.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_Reh%C3%BAso|cover=Coverart-me-reh-so.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=Me Fui|year=2018|creator=Reymar Perdomo|blurb=Street-performed reggae song ("I Left") that went viral as an unofficial anthem of Venezuelans who fled.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search/Me%20Fui}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Rohingya|year=2021|creator=Ai Weiwei|blurb=Observational feature shot over months in Cox's Bazar documenting daily life in the world's largest refugee camp after the 2017 ethnic cleansing. (Limited availability.)|link=https://www.aiweiwei.com/rohingya}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=A Rohingya Ramadan|year=2026|creator=Jidi Guo, Ro Yassin Abdumonab & Sohel Khan|blurb=Vérité film shot inside the Cox's Bazar camps during Ramadan, co-made by resident Rohingya activists. (Recent - check availability.)|link=https://seajunction.org/event/film-screening-a-rohingya-ramadan-inside-the-worlds-largest-refugee-camp/}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Exodus|year=2021|creator=Taimoor Sobhan|blurb=Three young Rohingya refugees document their own camp lives through photography and social media.|link=https://www.fortifyrights.org/bgd-inv-2021-08-25/}}
{{Culture pick|type=Book|title=First, They Erased Our Name|year=2019|creator=Habiburahman with Sophie Ansel|blurb=The first first-person memoir by a Rohingya author — persecution in Myanmar, flight, and years in Australian immigration detention.|link=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43388990-first-they-erased-our-name}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Border Nation|year=2019|creator=Jason Jaacks / Field of Vision|blurb=Tohono O'odham activist Ofelia Rivas as the border and Border Patrol cut through her nation's land.|link=https://fieldofvision.org/if-then/films/border-nation}}
{{Culture pick|type=Documentary|title=Golden Venture|year=2006|creator=Peter Cohn|blurb=The 1993 grounding of the smuggling freighter Golden Venture off Queens and the years of detention and asylum battles that reshaped US policy.|link=https://www.newday.com/films/golden-venture}}
{{Culture pick|type=Film & TV|title=The Long Goodbye|year=2020|creator=Riz Ahmed & Aneil Karia|blurb=Oscar-winning short dramatizing a British South Asian family seized by a racist militia, set to Ahmed's spoken word on belonging in post-Brexit Britain.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_Goodbye_(2020_film)}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=The Long Goodbye (album)|year=2020|creator=Riz Ahmed|blurb=Concept album framing Britain's relationship with its South Asian population as an abusive breakup amid Brexit-era xenophobia.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_Goodbye_(Riz_Ahmed_album)}}
{{Culture pick|type=Music|title=Emel Mathlouthi|year=2012–|creator=Emel Mathlouthi|blurb=Tunisian-American singer whose protest work traces exile after her songs were banned at home and she left for Paris and New York.|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emel_Mathlouthi|cover=Coverart-emel-mathlouthi.jpg}}
{{Culture pick|type=Podcast|title=Adapted|year=2016–|creator=Kaomi Goetz|blurb=Adoptee-led interview podcast by a Korean adoptee journalist — episodes include deported adoptees on race, belonging and life after removal.|link=https://adaptedpodcast.com}}
</div>
</div>
</div>


''Every recommendation is reviewed before it appears. Suggest a film, documentary, album, book or podcast on the'' '''[[ICE List:Contribute|Contribute]]''' ''page.''
''Every recommendation is reviewed before it appears. Suggest a film, documentary, album, book or podcast on the'' '''[[ICE List:Contribute|Contribute]]''' ''page.''
[[Category:ICE List]]
[[Category:ICE List]]

Latest revision as of 22:43, 20 July 2026

Culture: watch, listen, read

A community-curated library of film, documentaries, music and writing about immigration, detention and the fight for immigrant justice. These are cultural recommendations — kept deliberately separate from the documented record on this site.

Know something we're missing? Recommend a title →

Podcast2026
An episode of Robert Evans’s history/comedy podcast Behind the Bastards examining how ICE targets international and student-visa holders for deportation.
How ICE Is Targeting Students for Deportation
Behind the Bastards
Podcast2026
The Guardian’s Stateside podcast: Kai Wright speaks with immigration reporter José Olivares about how ICE became so deadly, after officers killed two immigrants in separate shootings in Texas and Maine..
How ICE Became So Deadly
The Guardian · Stateside with Kai Wright
Doc2026
A recorded public panel from Roosevelt House at Hunter College examining ICE as an instrument of state violence and the deliberate machinery of fear driving mass immigration enforcement..
ICE Brutality - State Violence and the Machinery of Fear
Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute, Hunter College
Doc2020
Filmmakers embed with ICE for three years, capturing raids, deportations and the human toll from inside the agency.
Immigration Nation
Netflix docuseries
Doc2019
Young activists deliberately get detained to organize from inside a for-profit detention center.
The Infiltrators
Cristina Ibarra & Alex Rivera
Doc2009
Follows unaccompanied children riding freight trains north toward the US border.
Which Way Home
Rebecca Cammisa
Film2009
A Honduran teen and a gang defector cross Mexico by train in a tense migrant-journey drama.
Sin Nombre
Cary Joji Fukunaga
Film2011
An undocumented gardener in Los Angeles risks everything to build a future for his son.
A Better Life
Chris Weitz
Film2007
A widowed professor is drawn into the immigration-detention system after befriending an undocumented couple.
The Visitor
Tom McCarthy
Film2021
A Korean-American adoptee raised in Louisiana faces deportation to a country he never knew.
Blue Bayou
Justin Chon
Music1948
Written after a crash killed 28 deported farmworkers the press left unnamed — the original migrant-justice protest song.
Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)
Woody Guthrie
Music1998
The anthem of the undocumented, sung from the migrant’s point of view.
Clandestino
Manu Chao
Music2015
A blunt, viral single and video confronting the global migration crisis and border politics.
Borders
M.I.A.
Music1968–
Decades of migration corridos — "La Jaula de Oro," "Tres Veces Mojado" — that turned the immigrant experience into folk history.
Los Tigres del Norte
Norteño corridos
Book2004
The true story of 26 men who crossed the Arizona desert and the 14 who died — a landmark of border reporting.
The Devil’s Highway
Luis Alberto Urrea
Book2020
A fierce, literary account of undocumented life beyond the headlines, by a formerly undocumented writer.
The Undocumented Americans
Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
Book2017
An essay built from the 40 questions asked of child migrants in immigration court.
Tell Me How It Ends
Valeria Luiselli
Podcast2011–
Long-form Latin American and US-Latino stories, many tracing migration and its aftermath.
Radio Ambulante
NPR (Spanish)
Podcast1993–
The long-running radio show and podcast covering immigration, enforcement and Latino life in the US.
Latino USA
NPR / Futuro Media
Doc2024
Investigates the Trump administration's family-separation policy through interviews and reenactments, based on Jacob Soboroff's book.
Separated
Errol Morris
Doc2016
Golden Bear winner at Berlin and Oscar-nominated portrait of the migrant crisis on the Italian island of Lampedusa.
Fire at Sea
Gianfranco Rosi
Doc2017
Filmed over a year in 23 countries following some of the world's forcibly displaced people; premiered in competition at Venice.
Human Flow
Ai Weiwei
Doc2019
An Afghan family films their own flight from the Taliban on three phones.
Midnight Traveler
Hassan Fazili
Doc2021
Animated documentary of a gay Afghan refugee; first film Oscar-nominated for Animated, Documentary and International Feature at once.
Flee
Jonas Poher Rasmussen
Doc2020
Follows Dominicans of Haitian descent after a 2013 court ruling stripped citizenship, rendering over 200,000 people stateless.
Stateless
Michèle Stephenson
Doc2021
Short film shot via video calls inside a Georgia ICE detention center during COVID-19.
The Facility
Seth Freed Wessler
Doc2024
Examines the profit-driven "border industrial complex" of immigration enforcement.
Borderland: The Line Within
Pamela Yates
Doc2013
Traces an unidentified migrant's body found in the Arizona desert; features Gael García Bernal.
Who Is Dayani Cristal?
Marc Silver
Doc2006
Follows three "Lost Boys of Sudan" from a Kenyan refugee camp to U.S. resettlement.
God Grew Tired of Us
Christopher Dillon Quinn
Doc2020
Cambodian refugee Ted Ngoy builds a California donut empire and sponsors fellow refugees.
The Donut King
Alice Gu
Doc2011
Investigates abuse in immigrant detention and the Secure Communities program.
Lost in Detention
FRONTLINE (PBS)
Doc2025
Investigates the treatment of protesters and bystanders during Trump-era immigration sweeps.
Caught in the Crackdown
FRONTLINE / ProPublica
Doc2019
A mother's first-person chronicle of the Aleppo siege and the decision to flee.
For Sama
Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
Doc2016
A Haitian woman in the Dominican Republic fights to regularize status and avoid deportation; Amnesty prize winner. (Limited availability.)
Si Bondye vle, Yuli (God Willing, Yuli)
Jean Jean
Doc2021
Documents how the border wall divides the Tohono O'odham Nation and desecrates ancestral sites. (Limited availability.)
Whose Land? O'odham Land!
Tohono O'odham community filmmakers
Doc2017
Experimental 16mm portrait of the Sonoran Desert and its border crossings. (Limited availability.)
El mar la mar
J.P. Sniadecki, Joshua Bonnetta
Doc2020
Meditative portrait of life along Middle Eastern borders scarred by war and displacement.
Notturno
Gianfranco Rosi
Film1983
Foundational film following Maya siblings fleeing Guatemala to "the North."
El Norte
Gregory Nava
Film2008
A veteran's bond with his Hmong refugee neighbors confronts his prejudice.
Gran Torino
Clint Eastwood
Film2004
A pregnant Colombian teen becomes a drug mule bound for New York.
Maria Full of Grace
Joshua Marston
Film2022
True story of Syrian sisters Yusra and Sara Mardini fleeing to Europe by sea.
The Swimmers
Sally El Hosaini
Film2023
Two Senegalese teens' journey across the Sahara and Mediterranean to Italy; Silver Lion winner and Oscar nominee.
Io Capitano
Matteo Garrone
Film2020
A Korean American family starts a farm in 1980s Arkansas.
Minari
Lee Isaac Chung
Film2007
A boy crosses the border to find his undocumented mother working in Los Angeles.
Under the Same Moon (La Misma Luna)
Patricia Riggen
Film2022
Semi-autobiographical comedy of a Palestinian family awaiting asylum in Houston.
Mo
Mo Amer, Ramy Youssef
Film2020
Five siblings fend for themselves after their parents are deported to Mexico.
Party of Five
Amy Lippman, Christopher Keyser
Film2017
A child's survival under the Khmer Rouge, based on Loung Ung's memoir.
First They Killed My Father
Angelina Jolie
Film2014
Sudanese war orphans resettle in the American Midwest; features real former Lost Boys.
The Good Lie
Philippe Falardeau
Film2007
Animated memoir of a girl's exile from revolutionary Iran to Europe.
Persepolis
Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud
Film2015
Tamil refugees pose as a family to seek asylum in France; Palme d'Or winner.
Dheepan
Jacques Audiard
Film2006
A Bengali immigrant family navigates identity across generations in New York.
The Namesake
Mira Nair
Film1985
A young British-Pakistani man and his lover confront racism in Thatcher-era London.
My Beautiful Laundrette
Stephen Frears
Film2008
Sci-fi imagining a future of "virtual" migrant labor across a militarized border.
Sleep Dealer
Alex Rivera
Film2021
Musical of a Dominican American neighborhood in Washington Heights, including an undocumented character.
In the Heights
Jon M. Chu
Film2024
A Hungarian Jewish architect rebuilds his life in postwar America.
The Brutalist
Brady Corbet
Film2015
An Irish immigrant builds a new life in 1950s Brooklyn.
Brooklyn
John Crowley
Film2019
A Monterrey teen flees cartel threats to an isolating exile in New York.
I'm No Longer Here (Ya no estoy aquí)
Fernando Frías de la Parra
Film2020
A mother searches for her son who vanished migrating north.
Identifying Features (Sin señas particulares)
Fernanda Valadez
Film2020
Anthology series dramatizing true stories of immigrants in America.
Little America
Kumail Nanjiani, Emily V. Gordon, Lee Eisenberg
Music2013
Narrates three undocumented workers living under the constant fear of ICE.
El Hielo (ICE)
La Santa Cecilia
Music2016
Hip-hop anthem on immigrant labor from The Hamilton Mixtape.
Immigrants (We Get the Job Done)
K'naan feat. Residente, Riz MC, Snow Tha Product
Music2025
Album engaging displacement and diaspora; its opening track voices a message defending immigrants.
Debí Tirar Más Fotos
Bad Bunny
Music2010
Rapper born to Chilean exiles whose work engages exile, identity and injustice.
La Bala / 1977
Ana Tijoux
Music2019
Reworks Manu Chao's song to address detained migrant children at the U.S. border.
Clandestino (Al Chile version)
Lila Downs
Music1987
Ballad about the perils and false promises awaiting those who cross into the U.S.
Across the Borderline
Ry Cooder, John Hiatt, Jim Dickinson
Music2007
Celebrates New York as a city built by immigrants.
City of Immigrants
Steve Earle
Music2019
Ballad about families and children seeking refuge at the southern border.
A Safe Place to Land
Sara Bareilles feat. John Legend
Music2005
Traces, in reverse, a migrant who drowns crossing the Rio Grande.
Matamoros Banks
Bruce Springsteen
Music2003
Border-rock song depicting a desert crossing into Arizona.
Across the Wire
Calexico
Music2018
Single condemning the family-separation policy and detention conditions.
The Immigrants
Gaby Moreno & Van Dyke Parks
Music2007
Hymn to the migrant's northward journey and resilience.
Pa'l Norte
Calle 13 feat. Orishas
Music2003
Confronts anti-Mexican racism and border hypocrisy from both sides.
Frijolero
Molotov
Music2005
Ballad following an undocumented migrant's dangerous crossing north.
Mojado
Ricardo Arjona
Music2023
Song reclaiming the word "refugee," released for World Refugee Day.
Refugee
K'naan
Music2022
Critiques U.S. hegemony and the treatment of Latin American migrants.
This Is Not America
Residente feat. Ibeyi
Music1984
Chicano-rock meditation on survival and the immigrant's precarious place.
Will the Wolf Survive?
Los Lobos
Music1988
Title track addressing African emigrants living far from home.
Immigrés
Youssou N'Dour
Music1993
Iconic chaabi song about the sorrow of the emigrant who leaves home.
Ya Rayah
Rachid Taha
Music2019
Politically charged song critiquing the border wall and inequality.
Land of the Free
The Killers
Book2018
Memoir by a former Border Patrol agent reckoning with the human cost of enforcement.
The Line Becomes a River
Francisco Cantú
Book2017
Novel using magical "doors" to render the universality of migration and displacement.
Exit West
Mohsin Hamid
Book2022
Memoir of the author's solo journey at age nine from El Salvador to the U.S.
Solito
Javier Zamora
Book2019
Novel interweaving a family road trip with the child-migrant crisis at the border.
Lost Children Archive
Valeria Luiselli
Book2014
Interwoven testimonies of Latin American immigrant families in Delaware.
The Book of Unknown Americans
Cristina Henríquez
Book2016
Novel of a Cameroonian family in New York during the 2008 crash, facing deportation.
Behold the Dreamers
Imbolo Mbue
Book2017
Graphic memoir of a Vietnamese "boat people" family's escape and resettlement.
The Best We Could Do
Thi Bui
Book2007
Memoir including the author's uncle, who died in U.S. immigration detention.
Brother, I'm Dying
Edwidge Danticat
Book2024
Narrative history of U.S.–Central America relations and the making of the migration crisis.
Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here
Jonathan Blitzer
Book2018
Memoir written by phone from Australia's Manus Island detention center.
No Friend But the Mountains
Behrouz Boochani
Book2006
Pulitzer-based account of a Honduran boy riding freight trains to find his mother.
Enrique's Journey
Sonia Nazario
Book2015
Pulitzer-winning novel of a Vietnamese refugee and double agent after Saigon's fall.
The Sympathizer
Viet Thanh Nguyen
Book2018
Memoir on living undocumented and hiding from the government.
Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen
Jose Antonio Vargas
Book2013
Novel on race and immigration following a Nigerian woman in the U.S. and her love's undocumented life in the UK.
Americanah
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Book2015
Anthropological account of migrant deaths in the Sonoran Desert.
The Land of Open Graves
Jason De León
Book2024
Novel of an undocumented Ecuadorian girl coming of age at Harvard.
Catalina
Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
Book2021
Novel of a Colombian American family split apart by immigration policy.
Infinite Country
Patricia Engel
Book2020
Investigative account of the family-separation policy.
Separated: Inside an American Tragedy
Jacob Soboroff
Book2018
Memoir of a Somali man who won the visa lottery and resettled in Maine.
Call Me American
Abdi Nor Iftin
Book2012
Memoir of a girl left behind in Mexico, then crossing to reunite with family.
The Distance Between Us
Reyna Grande
Book2020
Poet's memoir of growing up undocumented amid raids and deportation.
Children of the Land
Marcelo Hernandez Castillo
Book2019
Follows one Filipino family across three decades and continents of migration.
A Good Provider Is One Who Leaves
Jason DeParle
Book2010
Reportage on migrant deaths and enforcement in the Arizona borderlands.
The Death of Josseline
Margaret Regan
Podcast2019
Pulitzer-winning reporting on the "Remain in Mexico" policy — the first Pulitzer ever awarded for audio journalism.
The Out Crowd
This American Life
Podcast2017
Five-part series on people fighting deportation after the 1996 immigration laws.
Indefensible
Immigrant Defense Project
Podcast2018
Interviews on the global refugee crisis and resettlement policy.
Displaced
International Rescue Committee
Podcast2020
Follows refugees adjusting to new lives in Virginia.
Resettled
VPM (host Ahmed Badr)
Podcast2025
Frontline reporting on ICE and Border Patrol immigration raids.
The Raid Podcast
John Carlos Frey
Podcast2018
Interviews deconstructing stereotypes of immigrants and children of immigrants.
Immigrantly
Saadia Khan
Podcast2019
Amplifies first-person stories of asylum, migration and displacement worldwide.
Asylum Speakers
Jaz O'Hara
Podcast2020
Explores undocumented life, DACA and immigration policy.
Define American
Jose Antonio Vargas / Define American
Podcast2021
Eight-part series on asylum seekers caught in Australia's "stop the boats" limbo.
Temporary
SYN Media
Film2013
Guatemalan and Mexican teenagers risk the perilous journey north toward the U.S. border.
The Golden Dream
Diego Quemada-Díez
Doc2025
One Venezuelan family in Florida fights to keep legal status amid the Trump deportation crackdown.
Status: Venezuelan
ProPublica / FRONTLINE
Doc2025
Three Venezuelan men with no convictions, branded Tren de Aragua and deported to El Salvador's CECOT prison, describe the abuse inside.
Surviving CECOT
ProPublica & FRONTLINE
Doc2026
Investigates the deal behind deporting mostly-Venezuelan detainees from the US to CECOT, and what Bukele stood to gain.
The Deal: Trump, Bukele and the Gangs of El Salvador
FRONTLINE / El Faro
Doc2026
Reconstructs the 2021 Glasgow community blockade that stopped a Home Office immigration raid on Eid; Sundance 2026 Civil Resistance jury award. (Festival release - check distribution.)
Everybody to Kenmure Street
Felipe Bustos Sierra
Doc2026
Chronicles Chicago under intensified ICE enforcement, from Broadview detention protests to immigration court. (Work in progress; limited screenings.)
Shouldering Sanctuary
Chicago filmmakers
Doc2025
Follows migrants' journeys at the southern border amid the deportation crackdown.
Running to Stand Still
Bob Bilheimer & Heidi Ostertag
Book2025
Memoir by the United We Dream co-founder on growing up undocumented in Queens and building the immigrant-youth movement that won DACA.
Dreaming of Home
Cristina Jiménez
Book2025
Front-line account of Christian immigrant-justice activism from Tijuana to Arizona to North Carolina; 2026 PROSE Award.
Migrant God
Isaac Villegas
Book2025
Reporting on the Trump mass-deportation program by NBC's senior homeland-security correspondent.
Undue Process
Julia Ainsley
Film2023
A young protester flees Venezuela and fights deportation while seeking asylum in Miami; Goya-nominated.
Simón
Diego Vicentini
Doc2023
Follows a Venezuelan family crossing the Darién Gap toward the US.
Children of the Darién Gap
John Holman / Al Jazeera
Book2019
A woman survives collapse and prepares to flee Caracas — the signature Venezuelan-exodus novel in English translation.
It Would Be Night in Caracas
Karina Sainz Borgo
Music2016
Breakout single that became a diaspora anthem about leaving a partner and country behind during the Venezuelan exodus.
Me Rehúso
Danny Ocean
Music2018
Street-performed reggae song ("I Left") that went viral as an unofficial anthem of Venezuelans who fled.
Me Fui
Reymar Perdomo
Doc2021
Observational feature shot over months in Cox's Bazar documenting daily life in the world's largest refugee camp after the 2017 ethnic cleansing. (Limited availability.)
Rohingya
Ai Weiwei
Doc2026
Vérité film shot inside the Cox's Bazar camps during Ramadan, co-made by resident Rohingya activists. (Recent - check availability.)
A Rohingya Ramadan
Jidi Guo, Ro Yassin Abdumonab & Sohel Khan
Doc2021
Three young Rohingya refugees document their own camp lives through photography and social media.
Exodus
Taimoor Sobhan
Book2019
The first first-person memoir by a Rohingya author — persecution in Myanmar, flight, and years in Australian immigration detention.
First, They Erased Our Name
Habiburahman with Sophie Ansel
Doc2019
Tohono O'odham activist Ofelia Rivas as the border and Border Patrol cut through her nation's land.
Border Nation
Jason Jaacks / Field of Vision
Doc2006
The 1993 grounding of the smuggling freighter Golden Venture off Queens and the years of detention and asylum battles that reshaped US policy.
Golden Venture
Peter Cohn
Film2020
Oscar-winning short dramatizing a British South Asian family seized by a racist militia, set to Ahmed's spoken word on belonging in post-Brexit Britain.
The Long Goodbye
Riz Ahmed & Aneil Karia
Music2020
Concept album framing Britain's relationship with its South Asian population as an abusive breakup amid Brexit-era xenophobia.
The Long Goodbye (album)
Riz Ahmed
Music2012–
Tunisian-American singer whose protest work traces exile after her songs were banned at home and she left for Paris and New York.
Emel Mathlouthi
Emel Mathlouthi
Podcast2016–
Adoptee-led interview podcast by a Korean adoptee journalist — episodes include deported adoptees on race, belonging and life after removal.
Adapted
Kaomi Goetz

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