Chupacabras: The Myth of the Bad Immigrant

Few studies/films have highlighted the voices of criminalized immigrants impacted by an enforcement-focused immigration system. This community-created visual ethnography seeks to shed light on those experiences through digital... [ view full abstract ]

Few studies/films have highlighted the voices of criminalized immigrants impacted by an enforcement-focused immigration system. This community-created visual ethnography seeks to shed light on those experiences through digital media. Based on interviews in California, undocumented immigrants and allies talk about their first encounters with dehumanization or discrimination based on their undocumented status, and how they have experienced it in their daily lives. This film uses the metaphor of the "Chupacabras" as a threatening and dangerous depiction of undocumented immigrants coming into the U.S.