AILA Washington and One America joined forces to bring a movie ‘Tony and Janine’s American Wedding: A Deportation Love Story” to the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) yesterday. The event was held at the SIFF theatre at the Seattle Center. Directed by Ruth Leitman, the camera follows the lives of Tony and Janine, citizens of Poland who get caught in the immigration maze. Janine becomes subject to the 3/10 year bar and is deported back to Poland, while Tony becomes a US citizen and goes through a legal battle to bring her back. They have a son too.
The film was heartwrenching. As an immigration lawyer who deals with the legal side of such cases, it was eye opening to see how such matters affect peoples’ daily lives. Tony and Janine are an example of hundreds of thousands of people who share the same stories.
Afterwards, there was a panel discussion of the issues involved and current activities and efforts towards comprehensive immigration reform. For anyone who is curious or wants to learn more about the legal ramification of stringent immigration laws that have affected families all around the US, I would highly recommend this film. You can visit One America’s website for more information.
Thank you AILA Washington and One America for organizing this important event.
