These three videos directed, produced and edited by Gerardo del Valle and teams across ProPublica and The Texas Tribune are part of ProPublica’s series “The New Immigration,” which examines how recent arrivals at the border have shaped life in the United States. Spanning policies implemented by both the Biden and Trump administrations, they center Latino voices to capture kaleidoscopic perspectives on one of the most salient issues facing the nation.
In “The Right Way,” we meet the Pabón family as they wait in Ciudad Juarez, hoping to cross into the U.S. They are part of an exodus of more than 8 million people from Venezuela in response to government oppression and economic collapse. Over the course of six months, del Valle shadowed the Pabóns from Ciudad Juárez to Denver and then New York City as they attempted to navigate a labyrinthine asylum system. They arrived as so-called “sanctuary” cities became more hostile to migrants, leaving the family struggling. With his characteristic sensitivity, del Valle chronicled their efforts to try to find stability as they navigated the immigration system’s many fissures.
“Del Rio, Texas” is an ambitious, cinematic border chronicle set in a small town made up largely of second, third and fourth-generation immigrants. Del Rio garnered national attention in 2021, when nearly 20,000 immigrants crossed into the United States, overwhelming immigration authorities and law enforcement. As Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez launches his bid for reelection, he and his brothers support one another and try to preserve their father’s legacy of service. We see them diverge politically, capturing the region’s wider political shifts. Del Valle details the nuances and dimensionality of the brothers and the town through elegantly shot interviews and observational footage rich with American flags, low riders and Tex-Mex flare. This family story explores a region torn between solidarity and fear, English and Spanish, American identity and Mexican heritage—a testament to how fluid this border landscape can be.
“Mother Speaks Out Against Trump’s Detention of Her Son at Guantanamo” came in response to the Trump administration’s rapid employment of the notorious detention center in Cuba to house immigrants. Produced and shot over the course of just two weeks, this film centers one mother’s voice in a brief but powerful telling of a new order under the Trump administration, where non-citizens have begun to disappear, leaving their families distressed and without answers.
“The Right Way,” a Vimeo staff pick and Emmy-nominee, has resonated with audiences on both sides of the border and in two languages. It was co-published with Univision, republished by PBS El Paso, Salon and WLRN, and shared by the widely popular Arepita newsletter in Venezuela. “Del Rio, Texas” was published in both Spanish and English in ProPublica, The Texas Tribune, Univision, and El Pais in both English and Spanish. “Mother Speaks Out” found an audience of more than 120,000 across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. The deep reporting, multifaceted storytelling and beautiful editing and cinematography make these powerful videos worthy contenders for an Online Journalism Award.
