"‘Separated’: Lecciones del Pasado y Claves para el Futuro de la Inmigración en EE. UU."

Nunca debió haber sucedido, pero aquellos que albergaban una visión de ello se aseguraron de que ocurriera. La separación de familias migrantes durante la primera presidencia de Donald Trump fue uno de los mayores escándalos de una administración turbulenta. Las imágenes de cientos de niños, incluidos bebés, apiñados en verdaderas jaulas tras ser arrancados de sus madres y padres resultaron inasimilables para el público, lo que llevó a que el entonces presidente firmara finalmente una orden ejecutiva para poner fin a la política. Es uno de los pocos momentos en los que Trump decidió revocar una medida.

The documentary Separated, directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Errol Morris and based on a book by NBC journalist Jacob Soboroff, delves into the sequence of events and decisions that co-opted the institutions and shaped a policy described as cruel and deliberate. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival in late August, but has been in few theaters since, although it did air exclusively last Saturday on the US channel MSNBC.

This week, the documentary was screened for the first time below the southern border, in Mexico City — an important moment for the filmmakers given the subject matter. The hour-and-a-half-long documentary — which combines interviews with officials who fought against the separations and fictional scenes that depict the journey of a mother and son from Guatemala to their eventual separation after crossing the border — acts as a warning and a chilling roadmap for the president-elect.