Undocumented

A core team of filmmakers begins a project to expose illegal Mexican immigration as a social issue viewed through a raw lens. They conduct early interviews with Davie's family and probe employer Whitaker, which pulls them into a dangerous, morally gray world. The pursuit of truth quickly entangles their own safety with the migrants' peril.

The crew links up with a large caravan of immigrants, including Alberto and his wife and child. They follow the perilous crossing from Mexico into the United States. The situation shifts from observation to participation as danger closes in.

Upon reaching U.S. soil, the group is diverted to a grim detention facility run by the anti-immigrant faction led by Z. The captors present a stark choice: document the torture and win their freedom, or share the fate of the captives. A moment of uneasy mercy comes when Alberto’s daughter is briefly spared.

The first brutal sequence unfolds as a drug-smuggling immigrant is tortured in front of the group. Liz tries to intervene, but the man is beaten to death, underscoring the lethal stakes of their involvement. The crew's sense of journalism collides with overwhelming cruelty.

The film then tours the facility's harsh regimes: an examination room, the imprisoning 'pens' for men and women, and a public theater of fear that the captors choreograph. Alberto's rage grows as he witnesses the inhumane treatment. The environment tightens the noose around the filmmakers and detainees alike.

During a brutal test of knowledge about American government, Alberto is forced to answer a question about liberty. His incorrect reply—supplied by William—triggers the brutal deaths of Alberto's wife and William. The violence exposes how the captors manipulate truth and put the crew's lives at risk.

That same night, the group makes a desperate bid for escape under cover of darkness. A fence misstep alerts guards, and a tense chase erupts through the facility grounds. The plan teeters on disaster as survival instincts kick in for everyone.

As the escape unfolds, Alberto’s daughter's body is found caught in razor wire, a shocking symbol of the human cost. Grief fuels Alberto's resolve while drawing the attention of Z's henchmen. The escape turns into a manhunt that ends with the filmmakers and migrants recaptured.

Back in confinement, the captors compel the crew to document the removal of organs from living detainees. The scene is so overwhelming that Jim collapses, intensifying the claustrophobic, brutal atmosphere. Tensions rise as the group’s humanity is squeezed by the regime.

Tensions boil over as Liz clashes with Z and the group’s solidarity fractures. Davie’s aunt is killed, and Davie is beaten when he confronts a henchman. Travis is forced to interview Whitaker and the coyote who led the immigrants; both are killed, and the group is branded with the captors' symbol.

The captivity erodes boundaries between observer and participant as Travis is sedated and forced to swing a piñata around Jim. Liz tries to strike Z with the bat but is restrained by sedation. The captors announce that the pair will be kept indefinitely.

A surge of violence shifts the balance as Travis overpowers a guard, seizes his gun, and shoots another guard in the leg. He and Liz free the inmates and attempt to flee with the immigrants toward an old truck. Z nearly kills Travis, but Alberto shoots Z, allowing the escape to succeed as state police raid the compound.

In the aftermath, Alberto returns to Mexico after nine months. Anonymous tapes reach a media center in Arizona, revealing that Z has grown his operation into a larger network. The film ends with a lingering sense that the systemic forces behind fear and exploitation persist.

The film closes with a meditation on accountability, humanity, and the consequences of treating suffering as spectacle. It questions how far documentary crews should go to tell a story when power dynamics are at play. TheEnding leaves viewers with a stark, unresolved takeaway.