My primary reaction to the documentary Golden Venture was disgust and shame. This country was founded by immigrants, yet we treat some of our immigrants as though they’re scum. The story this film told absolutely horrified me. Immigrants so desperate to escape their home country that they spent $30,000 and suffered through a year-long boat ride in order to  get here were treated like convicts. Half were deported immediately. The other half, after four years in prison, were given parole. Not amnesty, not citizenship – parole. 220 of the Golden Venture passengers live in the US. Most of them are trapped in limbo, technically “legal” but still subject to sudden deportation. These people live with the constant fear of deportation, and for what purpose?! Who are these laws protecting? Of the more than 110 passengers who were deported, about 60 have returned to the US illegally. Although they were beaten, jailed, and in some cases forcibly sterilized after they were sent back to China, they have no chance of asylum here in the US. This system is so flawed and outdated yet remains unchanged. I don’t know how we can fix things for undocumented immigrants, but we must do something. Regardless of what some members of congress claim, were all immigrants once.