Si Puderia Quedarme
If I Could Stay
Si Pudiera Quedarme / If I Could Stay is a heart-wrenching and inspiring story of two undocumented Latinx mothers, Jeanette and Ingrid, who courageously enter local churches to evade deportation and protect their families.
Synopsis
Si Pudiera Quedarme / If I Could Stay is an intimate portrait of two undocumented Latinx mothers who go to dramatic lengths to fend off deportation and separation from their families in the United States. The film follows five years in the lives of Jeanette Vizguerra and Ingrid Encalada Latorre, both of whom have chosen to enter sanctuary at local churches, rather than report to ICE to be deported. Once they enter sanctuary, they physically do not leave the church grounds until they attain legal status, a process that can take years. ICE is currently practicing a ‘sensitive locations’ policy, which dictates not to enforce deportations in houses of worship and creates a temporary refuge for immigrants facing deportation.
In the film, we see these two mothers organizing and activating the mainly white faith communities who are grappling with the idea of how to put their power, privilege, and faith into action to support their undocumented sanctuary guests. The film explores friendships and relationships that develop between Jeanette, Ingrid, and their white allied hosts, while focusing on the learning and unlearning necessary to be an effective ally towards undocumented communities. As part of their efforts to gain legal status, Jeanette and Ingrid create multiple campaigns to surmount their legal challenges. They engage their allied church communities as they work to have their voices heard, and shift the paradigm of power to place agency and leadership in the hands of undocumented women of color. With an observational lens, we see the Latinx mothers claiming their power, fighting for respect, and teaching allied communities myriad lessons. Jeanette emphasizes “Providing Sanctuary is not doing us a favor. This is an act of social justice.”
Ingrid Latorre
We meet Ingrid Latorre almost a year into her third stint living in sanctuary. For Ingrid, the church has become her home. Her sons, Bryant (11) and Anibal (4), as well as her partner Eliseo live with her at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Boulder, CO.
Jeanette Vizguerra
We meet Jeanette Vizguerra in early 2017 in the midst of large protests supporting her case. Jeanette lives in sanctuary for an exhausting 86 days and gains National notoriety as an immigrants rights organizer, becoming one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people.
IMPACT CAMPAIGN
As thousands of undocumented people face deportation orders with no clear way to gain legal status in the US, some have made the difficult decision to enter life in sanctuary.
This most often entails a person with deportation orders moving into a house of worship and living there full-time without physically leaving the grounds until they attain some sort of legal status.
Host a Screening
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