Abandoned: The Betrayal of America’s Immigrants
In 1996, the US Congress passed sweeping new immigration laws resulting in the mandatory detention and deportation of thousands of legal permanent residents and asylum-seekers. The new legislation also greatly expanded the types of crimes for which legal residents must be detained and deported. The laws were also made retroactive. As a result, legal residents and asylum-seekers are currently being held in jails across the country creating a multimillion-dollar industry in the detention of immigrants.
Abandoned illustrates the most recent wave of anti- immigrant sentiment in the United States. Through a close look at the personal impact of new immigration laws, this film depicts the severity of current detention and deportation policies. Lives are changed forever, as legal residents find themselves being torn away from their American families and sent to countries they barely know. For political asylum seekers, dreams are put on hold, as they are kept for years in county jails that profit from their incarceration.
PREVIOUS SHOWINGS & AWARDS
Winner of the
ALFRED I. DUPONT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY AWARD SILVER BATON
New York, January 2001
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
New York, June 2000
WGBH-TV
Boston, June 2000
STONY BROOK INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
New York, July 2000
PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Pennsylvania, July 2000
Winner Of The Honorable Mention Award
CRESTED BUTTE FILM FESTIVAL
Colorado, August 2000
FORDHAM UNIVERSTY SCHOOL OF LAW, LAWYERS COMMITTEE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
New York, September 2000
INDEPENDENT FEATURE MARKET
New York, September 2000
SOUTH BRONX FILM AND VIDEO FESTIVAL
New York, September 2000
Winner of the Best Documentary Award
HOPE & DREAMS FILM FESTIVAL
New Jersey, October 2000
SEOUL HUMAN RIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL
S. Korea, October 2000
HOT SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL
Arkansas, October 2000
LOUISVILLE FILM FESTIVAL
Kentucky, November 2000
FORT LAUDERDALE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Florida, November 2000
INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF NEW LATIN AMERICAN CINEMA
Havana, Cuba, December 2000
SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST FILM FESTIVAL
Texas, March 2001
AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION 2001 SILVER GAVEL AWARDS
Illinois, August 2001
Winner of the Honorable Mention Award
AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL BROADCAST “CUTTING EDGE”
SBS-TV, Scheduled July 14th 2001
PBS NATIONAL BROADCAST “INDEPENDENT LENSE”
Scheduled October 26th 2001 9:00pm Eastern