Before the headline-grabbing crisis of family separation at the U.S./Mexico border unfolded in 2018, many thousands of longtime, undocumented residents of the Midwest had already begun to experience the U.S.’s ‘zero tolerance’ immigration policy. This film illuminates the effects our confounding immigration system has on the lives of migrants who, in good faith, are trying to make America their permanent home.

To Be Reconciled is the personal story of Carlos Urrutia, an undocumented resident of Saint Paul, Minnesota who has lived in the U.S. for 35 years, as he battles the relentless threat of deportation and seeks redemption as an alcoholic. A 2017 traffic incident involving alcohol made Carlos a target of ICE and the zero-tolerance system. But while serving hard time, Carlos finally confronted his alcoholism and rediscovered his Catholic faith and its traditions of social justice, forgiveness and redemption. While his legal team prepares a desperate appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, he reflects upon his faith, his recovery, and the ideas of freedom and justice that may permanently separate him from his family.