What is The Ones Left Behind?

The Ones Left Behind is a Spring 2026 Documentary Thesis film that examines and analyzes how ICE deportations impact families through more than separating them. Through the testimonies and first hand accounts of a mother and her daughters, The Ones Left Behind retells and helps to shine light upon the deportation of their partner and father, as well as the financial and emotional strain that followed soon after. As well as how his passing in 2024 cemented a loss that had began years earlier for this family. By centering the voices of those rarely shown, this documentary will reframe immigration enforcement as an ongoing and continuous family trauma rather then a singular event.