Recap: IRCSGV & Center for Racial Reconciliation at Fellowship Host Screening of “Status Pending”

On Friday, the Immigration Resource Center of San Gabriel Valley and The Center for Racial Reconciliation at Fellowship hosted an exclusive online screening of “Status Pending,” a new documentary short film, along with a panel featuring the film’s producer-director Priscilla González Sainz and the lawyers she followed in her documentary. The Immigration Resource Center’s director of legal services, Jonathan Fung and immigration activist Dr. Alexia Salvatierra also participated on the panel.

“Status Pending” primarily offers a look into the lives of five incredibly hardworking immigration lawyers in Southern California: Araceli G. Guerrero, Jose Osorio, Alma D. Puente, Gladdys J. Uribe, and Elizabeth Uribe. Each of these attorneys began their own individual practices after finishing law school and now work tirelessly to assist their clients in gaining legal residence in the United States. Despite their practices being scattered across the state, the group remains a tightly-knit support system through constant online communication and occasional in-person meetups. 

“Status Pending” excels at demonstrating the intense, almost paradoxical extremes that persist throughout immigration lawyers’ lives. They have the difficult job of balancing short-term crisis management with long-term problem-solving. The strength of this very special cadre of Mexican-american attorneys is cleverly represented throughout the film via text-message animations.

At times, hopelessness strikes the lawyers as they experience repeated setbacks and defeats, including sudden policy changes and chaos set in motion by a single tweet by the US President. Each admits to occasionally being tempted to quit and move to a career that doesn't’ cause them so much pain. Yet they always bounce back from moments of frustration to find a sense of hope for the future –– hope that policies and laws will favorably change, that clients will reunite with their families, that their actions can actively make the world a better place. This exhausting cycle of hope and hopelessness makes the lawyers’ work unenviable and all the more admirable.

González Sainz also paints a brief yet vivid portrait of the people that the lawyers represent. Over the course of only 26 minutes, we see one longtime U.S. resident successfully gain citizenship, while another is placed in detention for so long that he ultimately opts to leave the country. One of the most heartbreaking details from this case: is when the client’s lawyer must advise the man’s son and daughter to pack him a suitcase because he won’t be able to return home in the foreseeable future. Examination of the clients' cases in the film  highlights the inefficiency of the United States’ immigration system, as the process to obtain legal residence took many clients over 20 years to complete.

The filmmaker panel revealed a number of intriguing insights into the project. González Sainz explained that she was initially inspired to shoot the film following the 2016 election, as anti-immigrant policies and sentiment increased throughout the country. González Sainz witnessed the inspiring work of her sister, attorney Araceli G. Guerrero, and decided to tell the story of Guerrero and her colleagues. Since each of the lawyers is first-generation Mexican-American, González Sainz saw the unique opportunity to depict first-generation professionals and their immense impact on California’s immigrant communities. 

Without fail, each attorney cited their parents as primary inspirations for pursuing immigration law and for participating in the documentary. Elizabeth Uribe explained, “I chose this career to be able to continue lending a helping hand to those that come after me.” Gladdys J. Uribe expressed a similar sentiment, saying, “the person sitting across from us could be our parents however many years ago.”

“Status Pending,” which was funded through the Tribeca Film Institute’s If/Then Short Documentary Program and the National Association of Latino Independent Producers, will continue screening at film festivals throughout the summer. After that, González Sainz hopes to arrange a wide release for the film. If you find the opportunity to watch it, I strongly recommend this film –– it’s a beautifully eye-opening tribute to underappreciated public servants and the people they help.