{"id":11033,"date":"2015-10-19T16:21:28","date_gmt":"2015-10-19T16:21:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/?post_type=blog&p=11033"},"modified":"2015-10-22T16:37:18","modified_gmt":"2015-10-22T16:37:18","slug":"immigration-battle-the-high-stakes-world-of-immigration-reform","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/blog\/immigration-battle-the-high-stakes-world-of-immigration-reform\/","title":{"rendered":"Immigration Battle: The High-Stakes World of Immigration Reform"},"content":{"rendered":"

Premiering on PBS Tuesday October 20 at 10pm [please\u00a0check local listings<\/a>] as a co-presentation of <\/span>Independent Lens <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>FRONTLINE<\/span><\/i>, the new documentary <\/span>Immigration Battle<\/i><\/b><\/a>\u00a0plunges straight into the heart of one of the most divisive issues in America. <\/span><\/p>\n

Filmmakers Michael Camerini and Shari Robertson chronicle the struggle to create meaningful immigration reform over the course of more than 15 years. The duo\u2019s previous work, How Democracy Works<\/a>,<\/em>\u00a0was an ambitious 12-part series shot\u00a0during the Bush administration\u00a0about the “commitment to change the way that the United States handles the bedrock national identity issue of immigration.” More than a decade later, as we witness in their new film, the struggle for change continues. <\/span><\/p>\n

Immigration Battle<\/em>\u00a0is a fly-on-the-wall look at the high-stakes effort to broker a deal in Congress \u2014 an effort led by Rep. Luis Gutierrez<\/a> (pictured above; D-IL), a mover and shaker who makes his party nervous for fear that he’s more\u00a0loyal to immigrants than Democrats. <\/span>Immigration Battle<\/span><\/i> follows Gutierrez as he leads the movement on the outside\u00a0while\u00a0secretly negotiating across the aisle\u00a0inside Capitol Hill. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019m sneaking around on my party when I have dinner with you guys!\u201d he says, referring to his meetings with Rep. Mario D\u00edaz-Balart (R-FL), with whom he strategizes about how to build support across party lines. In addition to Gutierrez, D\u00edaz-Balart, and their staffs, we meet Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) \u2014 a Tea Party member who communicates with his Spanish-speaking constituents in their own language, and who chastises members of his party for taking a political approach that \u201ctakes the entire Latino community and writes them off.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Immigration Battle<\/span><\/i> chronicles this constellation of politicians from January 2013 forward\u00a0as they work to make the case for immigration reform against looming deadlines and within political minefields. The film reveals just how close Congress came to passing a bipartisan immigration reform bill before President Obama\u2019s executive action in November of 2014 redrew the battle lines.<\/span><\/p>\n

Complete with dramatic highs and lows, from deal-making over secret dinners\u00a0to\u00a0walk-and-talk hallway negotiations right out of <\/span>The West Wing<\/span><\/i>, the film is an unforgettable window into modern policymaking.<\/span><\/p>\n

As we head into a big presidential election year, clearly immigration will remain a hot-button issue. This new documentary will help every voter sort out how we got here and where we may be going, even as the battle line remains firmly drawn in the sand. <\/span><\/p>\n