Sonia has worked so hard for this: a healthy family and a normal life in an average American town. But on a night that should have been like any other, she is forced to make an impossible choice that could shatter her family’s dreams forever. Keep your daughter safe — or keep your family together? What call would you make?
In our powerful new short film inspired by a true story, Sonia’s crisis shows why we must all support the human rights of immigrant women today. Produced in collaboration with over 30 partner organizations, the multi-award-winning People’s Television and starring distinguished actors from stage and screen, “The Call” is the centerpiece of Breakthrough’s #ImHere campaign, an urgent and innovative call to action for the rights of immigrant women in the United States.
Early one morning, Maria—then nine months pregnant—and her family were stopped by the police for no discernible reason. At one of the most intimate moments of her life, Maria found a team of immigration agents—not her husband—by her side. Maria’s chilling story is the centerpiece of this powerful documentary depicting the reality of harsh immigration laws and post-9/11 racial profiling. Set in the U.S./Mexico border area near Tucson, Arizona, a region that sees more and more migrant deaths every year, the video explores the way to move forward by building coalitions among diverse groups including ACLU of Arizona, Alliance for Educational Justice, Black Alliance for Just Immigration, Derechos Humanos, DRUM (Desis Rising Up and Moving), Funding Exchange and VAMOS Unidos, complementing a Week of Action centered around the 10th anniversary of September 11th spearheaded by Rights Working Group. Watch “Checkpoint Nation? Building Community Across Borders and take action to ensure that the U.S. government restores fair immigration and racial justice.
Juana’s story is one of Breakthrough’s most shared and talked- about videos.
One day while driving in Tennessee — and while nine months pregnant — Juana was stopped for a supposed traffic violation (of which she was later cleared). Before she knew it, Juana, an immigrant from Mexico, found herself in jail awaiting possible detention. Then she went into labor — and to the hospital, without her family, to give birth in shackles. Watch Juana’s ordeal to see the damage our broken immigration system causes to women and take action to ensure that the U.S. government restores fair immigration and racial justice.
Breakthrough was given rare access behind the walls of an immigrant detention center and met several long time residents who face exile from the U.S. The threat of being exiled away from their families and lives is almost too much to bear for them. As one of them says, “this is a nightmare that I’ve not been able to wake up from.” Watch their stories and take action to ensure that the U.S. government restores fair immigration and racial justice.
The New York Times and the Washington Post have recently reported on the shocking “System of Neglect” in immigrant detention centers that denies basic medical care to those detainees desperately in need of it. Watch June Everett’s moving account of her sister’s death in detention – how Sandra Kenley, a 52- year-old grandmother who had lived legally in the US for 33 years “died because the American system failed her, a system we believed in, a system that needs fixing now.” Watch June tell her sister’s story and take action to ensure that the U.S. government restores fair immigration and racial justice.
Courage comes in many different forms. For Esmeralda, a transgender asylum seeker from Mexico, who faced horrific circumstances in immigration detention, it came in the form of seeking justice. Kept in a segregated cell with other transgender detainees, Esmeralda never realized that her experience in detention would match the trauma of discrimination she had faced back home. But her story is also one of hope for change. Watch Esmeralda’s powerful story and take action to ensure that the U.S. government restores fair immigration and racial justice.
Shirley Tan came from the Philippines decades ago, and built a life with her partner Jay, giving birth to twin boys and becoming a full-time mom. But Shirley faced the biggest challenge of her life as she fought to stay on in the United States, crippled by laws that do not allow gay and lesbian couples to sponsor their partners. Watch this video and take action to ensure that the U.S. government restores fair immigration and racial justice.
Agatha Joseph’s daughter was only 17 when she was placed in detention. She spent 3 years fighting for her case in 7 detention centers—all for making a small mistake as a teenager. Agatha tells how officials treated her daughter, “She was in a gymnasium that housed 200 people. There was only one exit door and a fire broke out and they shut the gymnasium down and everyone was locked in.” Watch her daughter’s story and take action to ensure that the U.S. government restores fair immigration and racial justice.
Although Sarah has been in America legally since the age of 7, with a respectable profession and two children, just one wrong decision led to a series of events that has resulted in her detention, separation from her children and exile from everything she held dear. Watch as she shares how she “this is a bad, bad dream and something has to change.” Watch Sarah’s story and take action to ensure that the U.S. government restores fair immigration and racial justice.
Stories from around the country are revealing how recent laws such as Arizona’s SB 1070 and Alabama’s H.B. 56 are causing intense damage to families, communities and economies, with devastating consequences for immigrant women. These laws leave parents unable to protect their children. They force women to choose between the threat of an abusive husband and the threat of deportation if they call the police. They send pregnant mothers to give birth in shackles with federal agents by their side. As part of a delegation to Birmingham, Alabama with the We Belong Together campaign, Breakthrough president Mallika Dutt talks about the growing racial profiling and discrimination against immigrant communities and people of color. Watch this video and take action to ensure that the U.S. government restores fair immigration and racial justice.
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