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"Crisis at the Border!" That's been the news headline for years as waves of migrants from Central America cross through Mexico and attempt to enter the United States to request asylum. The situation is only made worse by the Mexican cartels that are taking advantage of the ongoing surge of immigration and trafficking drugs and people across the southern border.

No one can deny: the situation at our southern border is vexing and can seem hopeless. And it’s scary, for everyone involved. Including the countless Central Americans asylum seekers who are fleeing life-threatening poverty, violence, and corruption, in search of safety and security for their families.

The overwhelming majority of people crossing the border are mothers, fathers, and children, for the most part, Christians, hoping to follow the rules and one day become legal citizens of our country. No matter our politics, it's time we witness their stories of pain and struggle, faith and love. ACROSS is their story, through the eyes of Americans who have been challenged and enriched by their presence in our communities.

Trailer

Story

ACROSS is the story of what happens when we set aside our politics and witness the humanity and faith of asylum seekers firsthand. Filmed in Honduras, Texas, and Illinois, this four-part docuseries follows three women and their children who escaped abuse and violence in Honduras and Guatemala, and a Midwestern church that experienced a complete transformation in their hearts when they stopped seeing these families as news headlines and started treating them like brothers and sisters in Christ.

Meet the Characters

John Garland

John is the lead pastor of the San Antonio Mennonite Church, located just a three-hour drive from the U.S./Mexico border. In 2017, when huge waves of migrants began moving through San Antonio, his church’s hospitality house became a safe haven for traumatized immigrants seeking asylum in the U.S.

Through John’s testimony, we start to understand why Jesus called the poor “blessed.” We witness how God is ever-present in the lives of these Christian asylum seekers. We witness how faith confronts unbelievable darkness.

Santos & Heidi

In January 2019, Santos, her oldest child, Heidi, and her youngest son, Josue, managed to enter the U.S. before the border was shut down under the Migrant Protection Protocols. Both Santos and Heidi were victims of abuse at the hands of a murderous Honduran gang member. Heidi may have saved her mother’s life when she convinced her to flee their small village in the middle of the night with just a few of their possessions. When they finally crossed the border and turned themselves over to U.S. border patrol, the mother and daughter were separated, and Heidi was sent to an adult detention center.

Through Santos’ story, we witness the remarkable faith of Christian asylum seekers in the midst of extreme darkness, and how that faith challenges and inspires those walking alongside them.

Jenifer, Lucia & their Hopedale, IL family

When Jenifer and her daughter arrived at Pastor John’s hospitality house, 10-year-old Lucia was hiding behind her mother, scared after a treacherous 3,000 mile journey on foot. Knowing that they needed a safe, loving place to heal and figure out their next steps, John sent them to the rural farming community of Hopedale, IL to be cared for by members of a small Mennonite church.

Hesitant to accept “illegals” into their community if that meant they could be breaking any laws, Hopedale residents began to see the reality of Jenifer and Lucia’s situation, and were completely transformed as they witnessed the love and faith of this resilient mother and daughter.

Alejandra & Jerson

Alejandra and her children waited months in Mexico until it became clear that 14-year-old Jerson was going to die from a heart condition. That’s when Alejandra made the devastating decision to send her children across the border alone, in hopes of saving her son’s life. Alejandra was given permission by the U.S. government to enter the country for 30 days to see her son who’d undergone major heart surgery, but was forced to turn herself back into authorities to wait out the rest of her asylum case in Mexico. Cameras capture the extreme hardships and miracles in Alejandra’s life that keep her praising God even in the uncertainty of knowing if and when her family will be reunited again.

About the Project

ACROSS is the result of a four-year collaboration between producers, cinematographers, composers, and editors with decades of experience working with Oprah Winfrey, Pixar, Marvel, CBS News, NBC News, PBS, and Discovery.

The project was inspired by a podcast episode entitled Can Loving ‘Illegals’ Save Our Souls?

The Team

  • Julie Mirlicourtois, Director/Producer

    For 15 years, Julie Mirlicourtois produced award-winning human interest stories viewed by millions for CBS News, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah's Next Chapter, and Oprah's Where Are They Now? Today, she is the co-creator and executive producer of the popular Maybe God Podcast. ACROSS is her first documentary film series.

  • Kayla McCormick, Director

    Emmy Award winning producer Kayla McCormick created quality human interest pieces that reached millions of people on Oprah’s Next Chapter and The Oprah Winfrey Show. In 2015, Kayla produced, wrote, directed and co-edited her first, award winning, feature length documentary, selectED. McCormick is now a Dallas, Texas based regional staff producer for NBC News.

  • Jude Leak, Writer / Lead Editor

    Jude Leak is an award-winning editor and producer/storyteller with two decades of experience working in long format and short subject documentaries for independent producers and numerous networks including PBS, OWN, NBC, CNN, DISCOVERY, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, THE HISTORY CHANNEL, A&E, and THE TRAVEL CHANNEL.

  • Shannon Stefan, Editor

    Shannon Stefan is an Emmy award winning editor, with experience in many genres of storytelling, including “The Oprah Winfrey Show”, Discovery’s “Naked and Afraid”, and Spectrum Originals Documentary Series. Her passion for editing stems from wanting to make a difference in people’s lives by sharing stories and viewpoints that elicit understanding, compassion, and growth.

  • Curtis Green, Lead Music Composer

    Born and raised in New York City, Curtis Green is an LA-based composer, songwriter and conductor. Most recently he co-wrote the original scores for Disney's Zootopia+ (with Mick Giacchino) and Pixar's Dug Days (with Andrea Datzman).

  • Eric and Geovanna Huffman, Executive Producers

    In 2014, Pastors Eric and Geovanna Huffman planted The Story Church in Houston, TX to inspire nonreligious people to follow Jesus. Today, the church is a thriving community with three campuses reaching people all over the world.

    Eric is also the host of the Maybe God Podcast and author of 40 Days of Doubt: Devotions for the Skeptic and Scripture and the Skeptic.

Screenings

Host a screening of ACROSS with a group from your church or organization to help humanize asylum seekers. We’ll provide special study materials to help you create healthy conversations surrounding immigration.