Work in Progress

Overview

An experimental video about cultural and political disputes surrounding immigration and naturalization processes. Work In Progress explores the effects of the 1986 U.S. Immigration Reform Law and individuals who did not qualify for amnesty under this reform, therefore remaining undocumented. Interweaving government policies, media exposure, xenophobia, Latin folklore, and cultural conditioning—as revealed through interviews and stock footage—Valdovino interrelates the complex forces that shape illegal alien identity and experience for Mexicans who cross the border, and takes on the "terminal disease of discrimination and hatred of foreigners" that often characterizes our society.