Sin Pais (Without Country)
In 1992, Sam and Elida Mejia left Guatemala during a violent civil war and brought their one-year old son, Gilbert, to California. The Mejia's settled in the Bay Area, and for the past 17 years they have worked multiple jobs to support their family, paid their taxes, and saved enough to buy a home. They had two more children, Helen and Dulce, who are both U.S. citizens. Two years ago, immigration agents stormed the Mejia's house looking for someone who didn't live there. Sam, Elida, and Gilbert were all undocumented and became deeply entangled in the U.S. immigration system.
Sin Pais begins two weeks before Sam and Elida's scheduled deportation date. After a passionate fight to keep the family together, Sam and Elida are deported and take Dulce with them back to Guatemala.
"With intimate access and striking imagery, Sin Pais explores the complexities of the Mejia's new reality of a separated family-parents without their children, and children without their parents. Sin Pais is a documentary that brings a face, a reason, and a new found hope to the topic of immigration through the struggle of one family...Sin Pais tackles the much debated issue of immigration with love, justice and compassion through the eyes of those who are most affected."
Minerva Flores, Director of College Assistance Migrant Program at Mendecino Lake Community College
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It's so heartbreaking to see families being torn apart due to U.S. immigration policies. 'Sin País' is a great introduction to the undocumented immigrant experience of families being separated in the U.S. and a grave reminder that even after all these years, we still have a long way to go.