Theimmigrationsystem in the United States has been a foundational part of the country since its early days. However, whileAmerica once opened its armsto people from all over the world, recent years have seen it close its borders and makelife hard for immigrantstrying to find a better life. When people face hardships, movies can tell their stories.
The best movies that celebrateimmigration in Americaare not fantasies or silly comedies, although some more serious comediesoutline the experience of coming to America.Instead, the best films reflect the diversity and complexity of the immigration experience through the real-life experiences of people who have struggled through it.
Sometimes, a comedy is what is needed to open up people’s eyes about a very serious issue.The immigration problem is not new to society,and it has long been a persistent issue, particularly in places like California. That is whereBorn in East L.A.comes into play.
When the film was released in 1987, it was easy for some people to overlook its message.Cheech Marin wrote, directed, and starredin the movie, and coming off a long career as a stoner icon inCheech & Chong,it was easy to see it all as a giant gag. However, the movie is a deadly serious comedy.
Marin plays Rudy Robles, a young American-Mexican born in Los Angeles who is sent to pick up his cousin from work. At that moment, immigration officials raided the factory, and since Rudy had no ID, they arrested and deported him to Mexico, despite being an American citizen.
Stories like this are no longer a joke. They have become a reality in America in 2025. That makes a comedy like this, even with its more over-the-top humor, essential to watch. Even with the gags and jokes, the problem is no laughing matter.
Released in 2000 and co-directed by Paola Mendoza,Entre nostells a story about Mendoza’s mother’s arrival in the United States. Her mother (who Mendoza also plays in the movie) is Mariana,a Colombian immigrant who went to New Yorkwith her two young daughters to visit her husband. However, he abandons them after they arrive.
She ends up on the streets with her two children and fights to survive, without knowing if they can afford to live from one meal to the next. The film is a strong condemnation of the wealthy in the country, ignoring the plight of the less fortunate. This is an optimistic film about a mother ensuring her family’s survival.
Abrazosis a 2014 documentary that follows the lives of 14 United States citizens, who also happento be children of undocumented parents.The film then follows these children as they travel from the United States to Guatemala to meet their grandparents, and in some cases, siblings they have never met until now.
This is a fascinating documentary because it focuses on how these children, all born in America, have the jus soli grants (birthright citizenship) that their parents don’t possess. The documentary also points out that there are 4.5 million children like these 14 in America, and every day they face the fear of losing their families.
Mijais a documentary by Isabel Castro that followsa young Mexican-American music manager named Doris Muñoz,a woman whose career supports her undocumented family. However, when she loses her biggest client, she has to hustle to find more talent, which turns out to be another daughter of immigrants.
Castro, herself a Mexican-American documentarian, has worked on TV, and this is her movie debut, which she made thanks to the Sundance Labs. What makesMijawork is that Castro makes the film an empathetic story, showing more of the family’s life and making them real people, rather than just another immigrant story.
In addition to Muñoz’s efforts to help turn teenage Jack Haupt into a pop star, the film also delves into the struggles of her family, including their separation from her brother, who was previously deported to Tijuana, Mexico. The ending is a tear-jerker, but this is a movie about hope, not trauma.
Released in 2011, Demián Bichir earned an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Carlos, a single father and undocumented Mexican immigrant gardener living in Los Angeles. When someone steals his truck, Carlos and his teenage son Luis (José Julián) search for it while worrying about deportation.A Better Life follows the father and son for one dayin Los Angeles.
They encounter danger on every corner as one of L.A.’s undocumented immigrants.A Better Life shares strong similarities with Vittorio De Sica’s brilliant Italian neorealist dramaBicycle Thieves,widely regarded as one of the greatest films in international cinema history.
Director Chris Weitz (The Twilight Saga: New Moon) ensures to show the parallel between the poor and disenfranchised in Los Angeles and the wealthy suburban residents, and the fact that a police officer ruined this entire family’s life with one traffic stop.
InUnder the Same Moon,Rosario is a single mother who illegally crosses the borderinto Los Angeles, leaving her son behind, to earn a better living and give him a better life. They talk weekly by phone, but when the boy’s grandmother dies, he leaves on a dangerous journey to get to America to reunite with his mother.
The film flips between the undocumented mother and the son who is trying to cross the border to get to her. While the movie received positive reviews, critics raised concerns that it made the entire journey too sentimental and heartfelt, glossing over the deadly dangers posed by U.S. immigration authorities.
In the 1938 filmBirthright,it doesn’t focus on Latinos, but instead focuses on the Black experience in America. The movie tells the story of a Black Harvard graduate who returns to his small hometown in Tennessee with plans to establish a school that will support other Black youths in receiving a similar education.
The film, available to stream on the Criterion Channel, was deemed controversial thanks to its graphic depiction of racism and hatred, even when directed at someone who had proven themselves and came back more educated than most of the people they grew up with.
The 1938 movieBirthrightis a remake of the 1924 film of the same name. However, the movieis considered a “Lost Film,“meaning no version of it exists anywhere.This original silent filmis based on the Thomas Sigismund Stribling novel of the same name.
In this version, J. Jomer Tutt plays Peter Siner, a young Black man who returns to his small hometown in Tennessee after graduating from college. He is considered mixed-race and struggles with racial discrimination in his home as the First World War is about to begin. Director Oscar Micheaux made both versions of the film.
Released in 2012,Harvest of Empire: The Untold Story of Latinos in Americais based onthe bookHarvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in Americaby Juan Gonzalez. The film focuses on the issues surrounding immigration and the role of the U.S. military and economic interests in Latin American countries.
The movie goes a long way to showing how the United States' interference in countries like the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala has led to citizens fleeing those countries for the safety of the United States, only to be told they aren’t wanted there.
The documentary also tracks the wars the United States has taken part in that forced colonial expansion into Cuba, Puerto Rico, and most of Mexico. With several interviews and personal stories on display, this is one of the best documentaries that showcases how America is responsible for many people needing to find safety.
In one of the most famous movies about the immigration experience in America,The Visitortells the story of a widowed economics professor named Walter (Richard Jenkins in an Oscar-nominated performance) whodiscovers that a young, unmarried, undocumented couple is living in hisManhattanapartment.
They were tricked into renting it, and Walter allows them to stay. What starts as an awkward confrontation turns into cohabitation and a quiet look at the United States following 9/11, and the fear and hatred that came with that tragedy. What is great is that it chooses not to be sentimental, instead offering a nuanced look at the problematic situation.
This doesn’t have a happy ending, as manyimmigrationstories in real life don’t, but at least in this film, the family is intact in the end when Walter’s new friend ends up deported to Syria without warning and Walter remains alone again, contemplating what life in America really means in today’s society.
