Border Justice

        The Gatekeeper

        The Gatekeeper by John Carlos Frey was a perfect reflection of the many struggles that migrants must overcome to cross the border.  This film really put everything we had discussed in class into perspective.  We would constantly hear about how much money the migrants pay to the coyotes to be held almost like prisoners and to travel great distances through the desert with in case of the film with no food or water.

     The film is about a man Adam Fields who is a border agent and works with an outside group who attempt to keep the flow of illegal immigrants at bay.  When he and his group are ready to intercept the migrants crossing they are caught off guard by the coyotes and all the members of the group for the exception of Fields is killed.  From then on Agent Fields must keep his true identity a secret and then must keep his Mexican migrant identity to escape sure death.  He and the other migrants are then taken to Central California and must work in a little crystal meth lab for a year to pay off the debt of crossing the border illegally.  He must endure the fumes of toxic chemicals without proper protection from the chemicals.  Once Agent Fields realizes that he made the biggest mistake of his life by leaving his family and job for this unapproved operation he tries to escape, but then is caught and shot in the leg as punishment for his actions.  Adam then share his real identity with a fellow migrant who steals a fax from the house she was working in and shows it to him, she then sneaks back into the house and faxes a message back to the border patrol at the expense of her own life.

        This film is very moving a provides everyone with a close up view of what migrants must go through to reach America in search of a better life.  These migrants paid up to $1,500 for the opportunity to cross without the guarantee of crossing.  Then they are surprised to see that must work for another year and face abuse from the coyotes.

For more about the film visit:  www.gatekeeperfilm.com