The Border Crossed Us

As a large white surveillance hot air balloon constantly hovers over the small border town of La Joya, Texas, local police officers patrol the area looking for human smugglers. The area is littered with trails of people who have tried to enter the U.S. by crossing the Rio Grande. But instead of arresting the immigrants, the agents gather intelligence on the smugglers and the smuggling bosses linked to Mexican cartels.

With a visual style that alternates between intimate moments, meditative reflection and exciting sequences, the film tells the story of Chief Ramon Gonzalez, Detective Manuel Casas and Agent Mayra Garza as they navigate the complexities of their existence at the border. Ironically, the area they patrol was once Mexican territory. Slowly, the interdependence between police and smuggler is revealed, a system caught in an endless cycle in which the immigrant is dangerously trapped. Meanwhile, the human toll of border security begins to have personal consequences.