Review of The Golden Venture

This documentary tells the story of 286 Chinese immigrants that boarded a freight ship from China, called the Golden Venture, in 1993, hoping to be smuggled into the United States. It deals with not only the hardship and struggles of these immigrants, but also with the issue of how to respond to illegal immigration and the faults of United States legislation.

The documentary shows the atrocious conditions that the immigrants faced on the ship: the smallest personal space imaginable and very little food and clothing. From this point on, the documentary is biased towards the passengers of the Golden Venture, even though they are illegal immigrants. However, it is not hard to see why anyone watching this documentary (and seeing what they faced) would feel the same way.

It is clear that the producers of the film tried to tell the story as completely as possible, as it includes footage of passengers jumping off the ship into icy cold water after the Golden Venture crashed into New York’s coast and the medical teams rushing to save them. Though ten of the immigrants drowned and some died even with medical help, INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) officials were quick to take the survivors to INS-contracted county jails.

After the passengers are imprisoned, the illegal immigration issues begin. Half of them are unable to escape deportation, while others were transferred from one jail to another for four years. The ones who were deported back to China faced harsher jail time there. It is stunning that 220 of the 286 Golden Venture passengers live in the United States (mainly illegally or undocumented).

In all, the documentary accurately depicts the struggles of the Golden Venture passengers and the legislative issues of illegal immigration at a time of xenophobia in the United States.

Review of Sentenced Home

Sentenced Home is a documentary that follows three Cambodian Americans and their struggle with deportation from the United States. Their families came to the U.S. as part of a larger group of Cambodian refugees in the early 1980s. These refugees were given permanent resident status, which means they were not protected under the same laws as citizens of the United States.

The main issue focused on is a law enacted in 1996 which meant deportation for non-citizen immigrants that have been convicted and served over a year of jail time. The law did not take into account individual convictions or circumstances. The film shows viewers the circumstances of Loeun Lun, Kim Ho Ma, and Many Uch in order for the viewers to decide if the law is justified as it stands or not.

In the case of Loeun Lun, he was incarcerated for firing a gun in the air as a teenager, even though he was protecting himself from being attacked by gang members. He was deported even after he served his time in prison and made a family. He was separated from his wife and children to be sent to live in the Cambodian countryside with no opportunities. In the case of Kim Ho Ma, he was sent to a country which was as good as foreign to him, whose culture and language he did not identify with. Many Uch had not been deported yet, but his deportation notice could come any day, so he makes the best of the time he has.

Though the documentary shows the other (legislative) side as well, it is difficult to advocate for a law that separates people from their homes and families for something that was taken care of many years ago. It seems like they are being tried for the same charges, which is illegal by the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.