About the Film

Posada: A Film about Unaccompanied Children Knocking on America’s Door

The U.S. Border Patrol turns away 100,000 unaccompanied immigrant children every year.

This is the story of three who stayed.

Posada portrays the journeys of Densi, Johny and Wilber who, as teenagers, separately left their homes in Central America for the United States. They each were detained by immigration officials for months between 1999 and 2002. Their struggles helped pave the way for others to receive assistance. They relate their stories to Las Posadas, a Mexican tradition that retells the Christmas story of Joseph and Mary’s search for shelter.

Yearly since 2000, between 80,000-110,000 children have been arrested and turned away by the U.S. The number of children annually detained by the US has risen from a few thousand in the 1990s to well over 7,700 in 2005.

Posada is produced and directed by Mark McGregor, a Jesuit priest who teaches film at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Shot on location in Southern California and Mexico in 2005 and 2006, its running time is 55 minutes. It has Spanish subtitles.