Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

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October 4, 2022
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‘Beyond the Wall’ documentary depicts journeys of border crossing

2017-03-29_TexasTribune_BeyondtheWall_Ann
Ann Morris

KLRU presented Tuesday “Beyond the Wall,” a documentary by The Texas Tribune depicting a journey made by many Central Americans each day: crossing the border to the U.S.

The film touched on the violence and insecurity people experience in their countries that often cause them to start the journey across Mexico. The documentary also explored the demand for illegal drugs in the United States and the living conditions of people residing along the border between Mexico and Texas.

When asked why he decided to start this journey, an immigrant from Central America said in the film, “We don’t want to do this, but we have to decide: to die or to leave. I decided to leave.”


Jay Root, reporter for The Texas Tribune, said the idea of this documentary began when President Donald Trump announced his campaign.

“I thought, ‘Let’s cover immigration for 18 months,’” Root said. “We focused on border security and immigration, and every step of the way we were collecting video, audio and pictures, and at the end we decided to make this film.”

The screening was followed by a panel discussion that included DACA recipient Norma Torres Mendoza, Tribune reporter Julián Aguilar, Jackson County Sheriff A.J. Louderback and Bill Hammond, former CEO of the Texas Association of Business.

Mendoza said the economic situation and violence people experience in Latin America need to be taken into consideration when trying to solve immigration reform.  

“Unless we really address the root of the problem, which is a downturn economy in Central America, we are never to solve this issue,” Mendoza said.

Louderback said it is the responsibility of law enforcement officials to address criminality in immigration reform.

“Immigration reform is necessary in this country,” Louderback said. “We’re still gonna maintain the rule of law. That’s the message we have to send — to promote otherwise will be to encourage chaos in our society.”

Journalism graduate student Linda Gonzalez said the dialogue in the panel was very informative for people who want to educate themselves on immigration, but said she would have liked to see more stories of immigrants in the documentary.

“As a formal resident of the Rio Grande Valley, I think it could have been more comprehensive,” Gonzalez said. “It elevated the stories of law enforcement agencies a lot more than the people who live there.”

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‘Beyond the Wall’ documentary depicts journeys of border crossing