The Undocumented - Documentary - PBS - April 29th

On our recent visit to Mexico and Arizona we walked some of the desert trails used by migrants

coming into the United States.  We saw several markers for the unknown dead who died of exposure or injury as the crossed the desert.  Remarkably these markers were within sight of several homes.  It must be incredible fear that stops people on deaths door from knocking on a door.  Steve tells or our desert journey in his blog post.

Migrant bodies in morgue waiting for identification
Frame from documentary

The Undocumented is a documentary that describes the challenges and impacts of the desert crossing for migrants.   The documentary will premiere on PBS on April 29th - check your local PBS listings at this site.

IMDB describes the documentary as:

"THE UNDOCUMENTED investigates the deaths of undocumented migrants in the Arizona desert and the efforts to return their remains to families in Mexico. Woven from multiple narrative threads the film depicts the efforts of Tucson's medical examiner and Mexican Consulate to name unidentified dead migrants. It follows Border Patrol agents who are challenged to balance law enforcement with lifesaving. In Mexico, the film captures the reunification of the dead with their families, and documents families whose loved ones left home to cross, never to be heard from again. These characters provide an intimate view of the border and migrant deaths, expressing a wide range of opinions on border policy and illegal immigration. The one thing they agree on is that migrant deaths must end."

The link below is the documentary's website.   Be warned that the trailer on this site includes some gruesome images of death in the desert.   See the site here.