In summary
The investigation and documentary reveals that the Border Patrol detained 77 people with no prior criminal history despite claiming operation targeted criminals.
A powerful new documentary from CalMatters — the organization’s first venture into film, thanks to a partnership with Evident Media and Bellingcat — is a revealing look into a U.S. Border Patrol operation.
The collaboration exposes significant discrepancies between official accounts and the reality of a three-day immigration raid in Bakersfield. The investigation and documentary stems from Olmos’ initial Jan. 10 report for CalMatters on the immigration raids in Kern County in the final days of Joe Biden’s presidency.
“This deeply-reported CalMatters investigation becomes richly powerful through the partnership with Evident and Bellingcat,” said CalMatters Editor-in-Chief Kristen Go. “The meshing of on-the-ground reporting and exhaustive examination with bold visual storytelling and gripping video editing will reach and resonate with a wide audience.”
The investigation, combining a powerful documentary report with a detailed article and analysis of more than 50 videos taken by civilians, directly challenges U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) claims about the raid, “Operation: Return to Sender.” CBP asserted the operation was “highly targeted” against immigrants with criminal records. However, the Department of Homeland Security’s own data, obtained for this report, reveals that CBP had no prior knowledge of any criminal or immigration history for 77 of the 78 individuals detained during the three-day raid.
The documentary, narrated by Sergio Olmos of CalMatters, features reporting from Olmos and CalMatters reporter Wendy Fry. It includes interviews with farm laborers, growers, legal experts and CBP leadership, including El Centro Sector Chief Patrol Agent, Gregory Bovino.
This is CalMatters first documentary, following a previous CBS video collaboration on the devastating effects of endless wildfires on the mental health of firefighters, earning CalMatters the organization’s first Emmy.
The Border Patrol investigation was produced in partnership with Evident Media, a newly launched nonprofit documentary news organization. The documentary also features reporting from the open-source reporting collective Bellingcat.
Kevin Clancy, co-founder of Evident, who also served as the producer and director of photography for the film said, “This project demonstrates the power of collaboration within nonprofit journalism. Evident was created to tell stories just like this, where visible evidence becomes the crucial missing link in uncovering the full picture.” The full investigation is available on both CalMatters and Evident.