Missing in Brooks County

Missing in Brooks County
Directed byLisa Molomot and Jeff Bemiss
Based onDeaths of illegal migrants bypassing a Border Patrol checkpoint in Texas
Edited byJacob Bricca
Music byTed Reichman
Production
company
Release date
  • October 21, 2020 (2020-10-21)
Running time
81 minutes
CountryUS
LanguageEnglish

Missing in Brooks County is a 2020 feature-length documentary (1 hr 21 m), directed and filmed by Lisa Molomot and Jeff Bemiss. Its subject is the passage of illegal migrants through Brooks County, Texas, and specifically how thousands die of dehydration and exposure hiking some 35 miles (56 km) across open fields in 100 °F (38 °C) heat, to avoid the Border Patrol internal checkpoint near Falfurrias, Texas.[1] The ground is sandy and taxing to walk in, and lack of landmarks makes it easy for migrants to get lost and go in circles.[2] Brooks County leads the nation in migrant deaths; most bodies are never found, and most of those found are never identified. The county sheriff calls the county "the biggest cemetery in the United States".[3] News stories have called it "migrants' Death Valley."[4]: 18 

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Austin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Marosi, Richard (16 Jul 2013). "Border crossers face high risk in Texas. A region of fatiguingly soft sand and torrid temperatures is seeing an influx of migrant border crossers and a rise in fatalities". Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California). p. 36. Archived from the original on 2 December 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Foreign was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Leutert was invoked but never defined (see the help page).