Their entire lives are stuffed in oversized black garbage bags sealed with tape. They may be alone or with their children. They may be children travelling alone, having lost their parents to war, famine, a personal crisis or disaster. They are hopeful, they are victims and they are looking to the U. S., among other countries, to help them find a better life. This is the global migration crisis. Roads of Fire is an attempt to give a voice to a handful of the millions of people who want desperately to become legal citizens in the U. S. Their stories are exhausting, and extremely depressing, to watch, simply because we know there are currently no humane answers coming from those with the power to change anything.
For some, this is a business enterprise valued at more than $35 billion dollars. President Reagan threw open the doors to immigration in 1989; President Trump slammed them shut in 2020. One of the most disturbing takeaways from Roads of Fire is how the narcos and gangs respond in comparison to U. S. officials, when it comes to dealing humanely with the immigrant.
What most Americans fail to understand, or refuse to understand, is that the amount of time that passes between when an immigrant first seeks asylum in the U. S. and when they are granted legal status, can be years. The system is overloaded, paperwork is lost, the wrong information is put into files, contacts are destroyed. Immigrants are given a phone to receive messages regarding their appointments, and that's it. Appointments made, then cancelled. The courts don't have staffing and frankly, no longer appear to care. Court dates are set, but the required appearances are not always in the city where the immigrant lives. For every American who screams at them "do it the right way", there is no longer a 'right way'. The system is broken, has been for years; the film takes no political sides.
In comparison, the Asesor's, the migrant smugglers, see themselves as the helpers of people purposely stymied by our broken immigration system. They set up the transports by truck, boat, through the jungle, on busses, by motorbike. They are paid extremely well for their services. It's unimaginably costly, both financially and emotionally, to try to reach America. Not one of the immigrants does it on a whim. Families may save for years for a chance, only to be brutally murdered in the jungle by a rival tranport gang. Those crossing may find themselves stepping upon the bones of those who failed, who died in the jungle. Carrying their children in their arms and their belongings on their backs, they may drown in the river. Yet they keep coming because they have no path to success in their own country.
The film follows different stories of those involved in the crisis: a abused mom and her kids, journying with them from their home, crossing over a raging river and walking into the jungle, then being transported to NY. A group of NYC citizens who, with the assistance of private donations, help the newly arrived with the essentials. They receive zero official funding from any local or federal governmental agency. A local religious figure helping asylum seekers deal with their paperwork. And a refugee who, herself, was once undocumented and now, as a citizen, helps others find their footing in a country where millions don't want them. There are no answers; the film provides none. In his statement, Nathaniel Lezra, Director, says 'If this film helps people build those bridges of basic compassion, and opens the door, even a tiny amount, for people to have those conversations, then it will have succeeded.' Roads of Fire is a way to catch the flickering shadows of humanity in what has become an inhuman situation.
