Harsh Legacy

How did we get to this moment in America’s immigration history?

A Film by Phyllis Coven and Yael Schacher with Turnstone Productions

MEET THE FILMMAKERS
WATCH THE TRAILER
BOOK A SCREENING

OFFICIAL TRAILER

How a 1996 law built the machinery of mass detention and deportation in America.

On the 30th anniversary of a little-known but highly consequential law, Harsh Legacy reveals how the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) laid the groundwork for the enforcement system dominating headlines today—families torn apart, asylum seekers treated like criminals, and legal residents facing exile for decades-old offenses.

Learning from History, Building the Future

By pairing insider perspectives from the time of IIRIRA’s passage with the lived experiences of immigrants and advocates affected by it since, Harsh Legacy bridges policy and personal narrative—connecting legislative decisions to their human consequences.

Conceived as both a documentary film and a public education initiative, the project is built to travel: into classrooms, policy rooms, and community screenings, where its history can ground honest conversation about where immigration policy has been—and where it could go.

WATCH THE MODULES

1.
Muzaffar Chishti
on IIRIRA and the Political and Historical Context of the 1990s

4.
Manny Vargas
on the Immediate Human Impact of IIRIRA

7.
Eric Schwartz
on the Migration and Refugee Challenges in the Backdrop of IIRIRA

2.
Phil Schrag
on the Legislative Battle over IIRIRA’s Asylum Provisions

5.
Don Kerwin
on How IIRIRA Created Enforcement Authorities That Shape Today’s Immigration System

3.
Lucas Guttentag
on How IIRIRA Restricts Judicial Review of Immigration Enforcement

6.
Alina Das
on How IIRIRA Intertwined the Criminal Legal System with the Immigration System