Learn More/Get Involved
IMMIGRANT’S RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS
FILMS ON IMMIGRATION
BOOKS
GET INVOLVED
CHILDREN IN NO MAN’S LAND is a documentary that addresses many of the issues migrants and specifically minors face in crossing the U.S./Mexico border without documents. The result is a powerful and personal story that challenges us to re-examine a national political debate about the U.S./Mexico border through the experience of one extended family and their collective “American dream.”
We hope that CHILDREN IN NO MAN’S LAND serves as a discussion tool in your homes and communities as well as high schools, universities and other learning institutions. Many universities, middle schools and high schools around the country have already screened CHILDREN IN NO MAN’S LAND. And through our outreach campaign, many grassroots organizations across the border are holding community dialogues and discussions after their screenings. For information on purchasing a DVD copy of CHILDREN IN NO MAN’S LAND, click here.
Below please find a list of resources we hope can be of assistance in creating a dialogue on the issues being brought about in the film and for thinking about ways to help.
IMMIGRANT’S RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS
ACLU of New Mexico – Border Rights Project
http://aclu-nm.org/
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico Foundation is a 501(c)3, non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the rights of all New Mexicans under the Constitution of the United States.
The Border Rights Project engages in outreach and education to communities throughout the borderlands and beyond on issues related to immigrant rights and rights at the border. Utilizing Know Your Rights presentations and trainings as the catalyst, the ACLU Border Rights Project walks with immigrant communities and immigrant serving organizations in the struggle to defend civil and human rights in the face of harsh border enforcement and immigration policies, and advocates for just, fair, and humane policy change.
American Friends Service Committee – US/Mexico Border Program
http://www.afsc.org/sandiego/
The AFSC’s US/Mexico Border Program began in 1977 to address economic imbalances between the U.S. and Mexico and to study the phenomenon of human migration. The San Diego Area Office also focuses on the defense of migrants’ human and civil rights, farm worker labor rights, and monitors policies and practices of local and federal immigration agencies. In addition, the programs work with migrant families to inform and facilitate an understanding of the impact of immigration law, enforcement of these laws, and the role of militarism on families, communities, and society in general.
BorderLinks
www.borderlinks.org
BorderLinks is an international leader in experiential education that raises awareness and inspires action around global political economics. BorderLinks grew out of the Sanctuary Movement in the 1980’s when faith communities, universities, and other organizations rallied to advocate on behalf of thousands of refugees fleeing persecution in Central America. Today, BorderLinks’ educational programs focus on issues of immigration, community formation, development, and social justice in the borderlands between Mexico, the U.S and beyond. As a bi-national organization, BorderLinks brings people together to build bridges of solidarity across North and Latin American borders and promote intercultural understanding and respect.
Coalición de Derechos Humanos (”The Human Rights Coalition”)
http://www.derechoshumanosaz.net/
Coalición de Derechos Humanos (”The Human Rights Coalition”) is a grassroots organization which promotes respect for human/civil rights and fights the militarization of the Southern Border region, discrimination, and human rights abuses by federal, state, and local law enforcement officials affecting U.S. and non-U.S. citizens alike. Organization goals include: Strengthening the capacity of the border & urban communities to exercise their rights and participate in public policy decisions. Increasing public awareness of the magnitude of human rights abuses, deaths and assaults at the border resulting from U.S. policy. Seeking changes in government policies that result in human suffering because of the militarization of the U.S. border region.
Consulate of Mexico
http://mexico.usembassy.gov/eng/main.html
Consulates of Mexico have the mission of defending the rights and interest of Mexicans living abroad. As a part of our duties, consular posts implement different programs with the aim of helping and assisting Mexican citizens, giving legal advice and particularly, safeguarding the interest of minors and other vulnerable people.
Doña Ana County Colonias Development Council
http://www.colonias.org/
The Doña Ana County Colonias Development Council works for justice – social, economic and environmental – in the colonia communities of southern New Mexico. The CDC began in the late 1980s as a project of the Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico, and became an independent nonprofit in 1994. Their work is rooted in two primary sources: 1) the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, and 2) Catholic Social Teachings, which call for the solidarity of all people for the common good.
Frontera de Cristo
http://www.fronteradecristo.org/
Frontera de Cristo is a Presbyterian Bi-national Border Ministry centered in Agua Prieta, Sonora and Douglas, Arizona with six areas of ministry: church development, health ministry, family ministry, New Hope Community Center, mission education, and the Just Trade Center. The ministry is active in providing pastoral care for folks who have or are in the process of migrating, providing humanitarian aid through partnerships with the Migrant Resource Center and Agua Para La Vida, addressing root causes of migration through the Just Trade Center, advocating for comprehensive immigration reform, and building relationships and understanding between folks on both sides of the border.
Fuerza Unida
http://www.lafuerzaunida.org/
Fuerza Unida’s mission is to empower women workers and their families to achieve social, economic and environmental justice through education, organizing and advocacy. The Fuerza Unida vision is for workers and their families to actively participate in society by voicing their opinions and concerns while keeping their cultural traditions and values.
Lideres Campesinas
http://www.liderescampesinas.org/index.php
Líderes Campesinas (formally known as Organización en California de Líderes Campesinas) is the only statewide women farmworker’s organization in the country. With historical roots stemming back to a 1988 Coachella Valley organization called Mujeres Mexicans, Líderes Campesinas gained nonprofit status in 1997. With headquarters in Pomona, California, the group has more than five hundred members who are organized through twelve local committees throughout the state.
National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR)
http://www.nnirr.org/
The National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights works to defend and expand the rights of all immigrants and refugees, regardless of immigration status. As part of a global movement for social and economic justice, we are committed to human rights as essential to securing healthy, safe and peaceful lives for all.
No More Deaths / No Mas Muertes
http://www.nomoredeaths.org/
No More Deaths is an organization whose mission is to end death and suffering on the
U.S./Mexico border through civil initiative: the conviction that people of conscience must work openly and in community to uphold fundamental human rights. Our work embraces the Faith-Based Principles for Immigration Reform.
Samaritans
www.samaritanpatrol.org
Samaritans (formerly Samaritan Patrol) are people of faith and conscience who are responding directly, practically and passionately to the crisis at the US/ Mexico border. We are a diverse group of volunteers that are united in our desire to relieve suffering among our brothers and sisters and to honor human dignity. Prompted by the mounting deaths among border crossers, we came together in July 2002 to provide emergency medical assistance, food and water to people crossing the Sonoran Desert.
MAID IN AMERICA by Anayansi Prado
http://impactofilms.com/maidinamerica.html
Three years in the making, MAID IN AMERICA is a documentary takes an intimate and emotional look at the lives of three Latin American immigrant women in Los Angeles who’ve left their own families behind to earn a living cleaning other people’s homes and caring for other people’s children.
Letters from the Other Side by Heather Courtney
http://www.sidestreetfilms.com/
The film tells the story of four women in Mexico whose husbands or sons have left for the United States. Filmmaker, Heather Courtney, engages in many acts of border crossings; she shows how migration has impacted both those in Mexico and those in the US. Through video “letters” carried across the U.S.-Mexico border we learn of gender relations in a post-NAFTA context.
The Workers/Los Trabajadores by Heather Courtney
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/theworkers/
Los Trabajadores follows an eventful year in the lives of Ramón and Juan, centering on the day labor site where they wait for work. When the site moves into a residential neighborhood, the workers find themselves facing opposition, misunderstanding and racism as they try to organize and earn the trust of the local community. Through experiences that range from political protests to bitter arguments to nostalgic sing-alongs, the men strive to overcome differences, share dreams and connect with one another and local residents alike.
The New Americans
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/newamericans/index.html
What does the “American dream” look like through the eyes of today’s immigrants and refugees? From Nigeria, India, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, they come with different dreams: to achieve athletic glory or high-tech riches, to escape poverty and persecution, to provide for their families. This seven-hour three-part series follows these newcomers from each of their homelands through their first tumultuous years in America.
The City/La Ciudad by David Riker
http://www.pbs.org/itvs/thecity/
The City (La Ciudad) tells stories of loss, love, frustration, and hope as four people recently arrived in a large city struggle to build their lives, their communities and their dreams. Filmmaker David Riker’s sensitive portrayals urge us to take a closer look at today’s immigrants, who are not so different from many of our ancestors when they first arrived from a foreign land.
BOOKS (source Borderlinks)
Dead in Their Tracks: Crossing America’s Desert Borderlands
by John Annerino
Coyotes: A Journey Through the Secret World of America’s Illegal Aliens
by Ted Conover
Hard Line: Life and Death on the U.S.-Mexico Border
by Ken Ellingwood.
Operation Gatekeeper: The Rise of the “Illegal Alien” and the Making of the U.S.-Mexico Boundary
by Joseph Nevins
The Devil’s Highway
by Luis Alberto Urrea
Antonio’s Gun and Delfino’s Dream
by Sam Quinones
Lives on the Line: Dispatches from the U.S.-Mexico Border
by Miriam Davidson
Enrique’s Journey: The Story of a Boy’s Dangerous Odyssey to Reunite with his Mother
by Sonia Nazario.
Crossing Over: A Mexican Family on the Migrant Trail
by Ruben Martinez.
Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America
by Juan Gonzalez
Ex Mex: From Migrants to Immigrants
by Jorge G. Castañeda
GET INVOLVED
We need all the support we can get to bring these children’s stories to the world.
CHILDREN IN NO MAN’S LAND is a non-profit film project through our fiscal sponsor The International Documentary Association and we are able to offer a tax deduction for any donations of $250 or higher. For more info, please send an email to us. In-kind services are also accepted.
Working Films
Community members and organizations across the country are hosting film screening events to raise awareness and inspire audiences to take action. Attend a screening by Working Films in your community. Click here for more information.
