This film illustrates a wave of anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States. Through a close look at the personal impact of 1996 immigration laws, this film depicts the severity of detention and deportation policies. Lives are changed forever, as legal residents find themselves being torn away from their American families and sent to countries they barely know. For political asylum seekers, dreams are put on hold, as they are kept for years in county jails that profit from their incarceration.