Borderland: What Happens When a News Organization Treats Immigrants as People Solange Uwimana - Media Matters for America
go to original April 9, 2014

Coming soon to “Al Jazeera America Presents”: a new original series in which average Americans are confronted with the realities of illegal immigration while retracing the footsteps of dead border runners. (Al Jazeera America)

Al Jazeera America is set to debut a new original series called "Borderland" that will attempt to take viewers beyond the debate on illegal immigration and tell the stories of the undocumented immigrants who attempt to cross illegally into the United States and the residents on the border.

Al Jazeera America's focus on the human side of the border story is in sharp contrast to the way Fox News and other right-wing media outlets discuss illegal immigration and undocumented immigrants.

In a press release announcing the series, which is set to begin on April 13, Al Jazeera America stated that "Borderland" "reflect[s] the channel's commitment to outstanding investigative journalism focusing on the human side of important, underreported stories, arising out of such national issues as immigration." Al Jazeera America president Kate O'Brian went on to say: "Immigration is one of the most divisive topics in our country, and it is easy for the real issues to get lost in the noise of politics. ... Borderland looks at the issue in an entirely fresh and compelling way - allowing the viewer to become immersed in the experiences of actual border runners."

In "Borderland," six Americans of all ideological stripes are tasked with retracing the journey of three migrants who died while attempting to cross illegally at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Read the rest at Media Matters for America

Episode 1 - Premieres Sunday April 13th at 9E/6P
Six Americans – strangers from all walks of life – gather to embark on a haunting journey that begins in the Pima County morgue’s dead-body freezer.

Episode 2 - Premieres Sunday April 20th at 9E/6P
The six are split into three groups, each tasked with retracing one dead migrant’s past, and discover the grave circumstances that led “their” migrants to risk their lives.

Episode 3 - Premieres Sunday April 27th at 9E/6P
Things get real in gang controlled Arriaga, when the six climb atop a cargo train known as “La Bestia,” or “The Beast.”   

Episode 4 - Premieres Sunday May 4th at 9E/6P
It’s the final leg of their perilous journey and the six must face sweltering heat during the day and nights that drop below zero – how long can they last?

Check the schedule for local times and repeat airings

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