Dying to Get In

The documentary “Dying to Get In” shows immigration from the perspective of the immigrants. The director Brent Tolley interviewed immigrants who have been detained and some who have successfully crossed the border and let them tell their story on why they wanted to come to America. He let them talk about their experiences with trying to sneak into the country, and why they migrated to the United States. One immigrant he interviewed showed a lot of emotion because the immigrants don’t understand why we guard the border so severely. Another immigrant said “one day America will need to change its way on how it looks at things (immigration).” I believe he said this because most of the immigrants, including him, trying to cross the border are in need of some help financially. The only place that can give them this help and support is the United States. This provided a more emotional side of why people want to come to this country to me. They believe that the United States is the greatest country in the world. The problem with this is; the United States has problems itself. Our economy is at an all time low, we are still scared about terrorist attacks, and we are involved in two wars. While the border patrol and the United States make it hard for immigrants another group of people says they help, but they just make things worse. This group is known as the ‘coyotes,’ people who get paid to sneak in immigrants from Mexico. These manipulative people take advantage of the people they are ‘helping,’ but really the coyotes are taking the immigrants money and leaving them out to dry. There are some coyotes that honestly do help the immigrants cross the border, but only a few really help. One man that was interviewed said “some coyote’s get you so lost there isn’t any way to return home.”

Immigration is a very hot topic discussed all over the country. Most Americans think that the immigrants coming over are hurting the country as a whole, but the immigrants who sneak into the country don’t want to be here anyway. Did you know that four out of five migrants would prefer to stay back at home? Due to their struggles at home they believe that coming to America and working here for a few years will help them get back on their feet. One immigrant that was detained by the border patrol said “We aren’t dogs, we aren’t second class people, and it’s not our fault that we live in a poor country. All we want is a better life.” This is a problem we need to fix as a country. Most of the people who migrate to the United States are in need of help. They need a job to pay for their families needs. Most of the immigrants who come over to the United States just need help financially. The government on the other hand will tell them to go through the asylum process, but the process to obtain citizenship could take years and years to. Our country makes it too hard for immigrants to obtain citizenship. There are too many fees and too many questions they ask. I know they ask these questions because of terrorism, but I don’t understand why they charge so many fees while the person is working and putting money in the economy. Many disagree because of the terrorism issue, but something needs to be done to broadcast the big picture of human beings trying to make a better life for their families. One expert that was interviewed on the film said, “the America-Mexico border is the only place where a third world country meets with a first world country.” Sadly, this statement is true and we, as Americans need to help people who are desperate for money.