| The Tunnel (2001) | 7.7 | |
| Crossing (2008) | 7.5 | |
| The War Boys (2009) | 6.5 | |
| Zinda Bhaag (2013) | 7.5 | |
| Dear Galileo (2009) | 6.6 |
Illegal immigration movies and TV shows
The list contains the best, new and most relevant illegal immigration movies ordered by relevance. The recommendation service has sorted out realistic, suspenseful, tense, suspense, serious and bleak films and TV shows about / with illegal immigration, immigrant, immigration, illegal immigrant, society, survival, poverty, corruption, police officer and human trafficking plots mostly in Drama, Crime and Thriller genres shot in USA, France, Mexico and other countries.
180
TOP 10 movies tagged as illegal immigration: Dirty Pretty Things (2002), Mediterranea (2015), Tiresia (2003), The Girl (2012), Border Run (2012), America (2005), Maria Full of Grace (2004), Harga (2021), Border Blues (2004), Flower Drum Song (1961).
Best films
New films
| No One Gets Out Alive (2021) | 5.4 | |
| Hawaii (2024) | 2.4 | |
| Princess (2022) | 6.4 | |
| Dreams (2025) | 5.7 | |
| Chal Mera Putt 3 (2021) | 7.1 |
List of illegal immigration movies
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
An urban hotel in London is a gathering and flash point for legal and illegal immigrants attempting to cobble together their lives in a new country. The immigrants include Senay, a Turkish woman, and a Nigerian doctor named Okwe who is working as a ...
Style:
bleak, tense, suspenseful, harsh, grim ...
Plot:
immigrant, blackmail, maid, working class, friendship, illegal immigration, murder, black market, character study, prostitute, surgery, social decay ...
Time:
year 2002, 21st century
Place:
london, england, nigeria, britain, europe ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: Italy, France, USA, Germany, Qatar
Duration: 107 min.
Story:
Ayiva recently left his home in Burkina Faso in search of a way to provide for his sister and his daughter. He takes advantage of his position in an illegal smuggling operation to get himself and his best friend Abas off of the continent. Ayiva ...
Style:
suspenseful, tense, suspense, melancholic, rough ...
Plot:
illegal immigration, smuggling, migration, interracial relations, family relations, job seeking, storytelling, father daughter relationship, mother daughter relationship, drunkenness, friendship, promise ...
Place:
italy, africa, libya, algeria, mediterranean sea
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: France, Canada
Duration: 115 min.
Story:
Based on the legend of Tiresias, it tells of a transsexual who is kidnapped by a man and left to die in the woods. She is then saved by a family and receives the gift of telling the future.
Style:
rough, sexy, disturbing, serious, suspenseful ...
Plot:
transsexual, prostitute, transsexuality, intersex, sex, captivity, society, obsession, confined, hostage, transgender, gay ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
france, europe, paris france
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Mexico
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
A young Texan mother who loses her child to foster care begins smuggling Mexicans across the border.
Style:
realistic, touching, tense, captivating, suspense ...
Plot:
mexican american border, custody, smuggling, immigrant, introspection, single parent, parents and children, society, life is a bitch, haunted by the past, illegal immigration, poverty ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa, texas
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
A female American reporter searches for her missing brother against the backdrop of violence and human smuggling across the US/Mexican border.
Style:
disturbing, serious, suspenseful, rough, suspense ...
Plot:
border, missing person, u.s. mexico border, woman in danger, illegal immigration, investigation, uncover truth, dishonesty, journalism, danger, siblings, woman in jeopardy ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
latin america, arizona, mexico
Is relevant?
463
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Romance
Country: Brazil
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
América is a Brazilian telenovela that was originally broadcast in 2005 by Rede Globo. The telenovela focused on the life of an illegal immigrant to the United States and the lives of those she left behind in Brazil. It stars Deborah Secco and ...
Style:
soap opera, suspense, captivating, psychological, disturbing ...
Plot:
closeted homosexual, lolita, immigration, illegal immigration, illegal immigrant, dream, social problems, emigration, changing lives, aspiration, emigrant, female protagonist ...
Place:
mexico, brazil, miami, rio de janeiro, usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA, Colombia, Ecuador
Duration: 101 min.
Story:
A pregnant Colombian teenager becomes a drug mule to make some desperately needed money for her family.
Style:
sentimental, sincere, independent film, depressing, touching ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
drug dealing, immigrant, human trafficking, friendship, coming of age, depression, drug, illegal immigration, women, drug abuse, addiction, character study ...
Time:
year 2004, 2000s, 21st century
Place:
colombia, new york, south america, new jersey, latin america ...
Is relevant?
10K
Genre: Drama
Country: Tunisia, Italy
Duration: 40 min.
TV show
Story:
Harga, a word that defines the illegal one-way journey by death boats, from Tunisia across the Mediterranean sea, to Europe the safe haven in the eyes of these illegal immigrants, who dream of a better life and a promising future, filled with hope ...
Style:
bleak, suspenseful, harsh, serious, poignant ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
illegal immigration, boat, migration, life, hopes, immigrant, immigration, struggle for survival, illegal immigrant, fight, life is a bitch, survival ...
Time:
2020s
Place:
tunisia, north africa
Is relevant?
Genre: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min.
Story:
Moskow police detective Andrei Somov resigns and emigrates from Russia, but has to accept a menial job in a restaurant while his adolescent son and pregnant daughter-in-law are denied exit visa's. 'Andy' does however get to know some ...
Style:
tense, detective, captivating, suspenseful, crime drama ...
Plot:
immigration, father son relationship, illegal immigration, russian immigrant, hugging, border crossing, chief of police, police detective, police, police officer, illegal immigrant, smuggler ...
Place:
los angeles, russia, mexico
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Musical, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 133 min.
Story:
Chinese stowaway Mei Li arrives in San Francisco with her father to meet her fiancé, wealthy nightclub owner Sammy Fong, in an arranged marriage; but the groom has his eye on his star singer Linda Low. This film version of the Rodgers and ...
Style:
aesthetic, independent film, humorous, feel good, semi serious ...
Plot:
forbidden love, nightclub owner, marriage proposal, male male relationship, chinese new year, singer, dance, illegal immigration, arranged marriage, unrequited love, father son relationship, broadway ...
Time:
year 1961
Place:
san francisco, china, california, usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: Germany, Ireland, UK
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
The crew of a bankrupt Scottish trawler turn to smuggling illegal immigrants over the stormy waters of the North Sea.
Style:
realistic, suspenseful, serious, touching, bleak
Plot:
fisherman, ship, illegal immigration, moral dilemma, parents and children, smuggling, stowaway, life is a bitch, human nature, ocean, landscape, human trafficking ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
scotland, europe
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
Three young vigilantes huddle on la linea ready to chase illegals back across the border into Mexico... but they soon learn that there are borderlines deep within each one of them that each of them has to cross.
Style:
tense, serious, realistic, captivating, erotic ...
Plot:
gay, lgbtq, first gay sexual experience, gay sex, homosexual, gay relationship, gay interest, border, masturbation, illegal immigration, border crossing, black market ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa, south america, texas
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
TV show
Story:
About 150,000 illegal entrants live in Tokyo. They are not recognised as refugees and live in poor conditions. To protect themselves, the illegals create a secret organisation. The organisation has a bank which Japanese Financial Services Agency is ...
Style:
captivating, psychological, thrilling, suspenseful, suspense ...
Plot:
justice, police, illegal immigration, refugee, secret organization, illegal alien, life is a bitch, society, fight for justice, police officer, social justice, moral ambiguity ...
Time:
2010s
Place:
tokyo, japan
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: Dominican Republic
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
A fictional retelling of the Regina Express tragedy, in which 22 Dominican stowaways died from suffocation in an attempt of illegal travel in September 1981.
Style:
historical drama, bleak, grim, emotional, period piece ...
Plot:
illegal immigration, desperation, tragedy, suffocation, human rights, human trafficking, poverty, realism, claustrophobia, social injustice, guilt, moral dilemma ...
Time:
80s
Place:
dominican republic, caribbean, puerto rico
Is relevant?
117
Genre: Drama
Country: USA, Mexico
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
An undocumented immigrant, Roberto, seeks a way to become lawful, but all efforts are put on hold when he becomes a new father at the onset of the US government's 'Zero Tolerance' child separation policy at the US / Mexico border.
Style:
psychological, disturbing, captivating, emotional, tension ...
Plot:
immigration, undocumented immigrant, social issues, immigrant, illegal immigration, family drama, border crossing, father son relationship, marital problem, life is a bitch, family problems, family relations ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Thailand
Duration: 130 min.
Story:
Dear Galileo is created by the director who was behind the runaway success of “Seasons Change”. It’s the story of two friends, Tai and Toey. One wants to runs away from school and the other is running away from love. They decide to travel and ...
Style:
intercultural, melancholic, comedy drama, independent film
Plot:
friendship, travel, illegal immigration, self discovery, college student, coming of age, young adult, personal growth, identity, heartbreak, escape, bittersweet ...
Time:
2000s
Place:
europe, venice, paris france, london, thailand ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Adventure, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Mexico
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
Set on the border, where Mexico becomes the crucible and the fearsome gangs of today’s Mexican countryside, the gauntlet, to freedom. The stories of a girl living in Honduras and hungering for a brighter future, and two teen gang members, for whom ...
Style:
road movie, serious, disturbing, bleak, suspenseful ...
Audience:
teen drama
Plot:
gang, immigrant, u.s. mexico border, street gang, juvenile delinquency, gang member, social problems, family reunited, mexican drug cartel, illegal immigrant, rape, death ...
Time:
year 2009, 21st century
Place:
latin america, mexico, south america, central america, mexico city ...
Is relevant?
18K
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: France, India
Duration: 115 min.
Story:
Dheepan is a Sri Lankan Tamil warrior who flees to France and ends up working as a caretaker outside Paris.
Style:
political, emotional, bleak, disturbing, realistic ...
Plot:
immigrant, violent, refugee, culture clash, character study, greed, language barrier, gangster, illegal immigration, migration, social realism, orphan ...
Time:
year 2015, 2010s
Place:
france, paris france, sri lanka, middle east, india
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
A Texas cop battles ex-navy seals who are trying to traffic drugs from Mexico into the USA.
Style:
suspenseful, rough, realistic, serious, exciting ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
martial arts, undercover, border patrol, mercenary, partner, police investigation, drug dealing, tough law enforcer, danger, confined, master criminal, police corruption ...
Place:
new mexico, usa, latin america, new orleans, mexico
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
When a planeload of Pakistani orphans are shipped to his state for permanent relocation, the governor of Idaho (Beau Bridges, who won an Emmy) defies the president (Phil Hartman) and closes the state's border. News Net Television, a cable news ...
Style:
dark comedy, cynical, biting, semi serious, realistic ...
Plot:
army vs civilians, u.s. mexico border, american politics, satire, civil war, illegal immigration, journalism, politics, gang violence, extramarital affair, governor, press conference ...
Time:
future, 2000s
Place:
idaho, washington d.c., middle east, usa, pakistan ...
Is relevant?
153
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: USA, Mexico
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
Two Americans find that smuggling illegal immigrants into the country is more lucrative than a regular job.
Style:
realistic, serious, suspenseful, suspense, rough ...
Plot:
border patrol, best friend, deportation, heroes, immigrant, partner, dishonesty, misfit, greed, illegal immigration, desert, mexican american border ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
mexico, arizona, latin america, tucson arizona
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: Croatia
Duration: 89 min.
Story:
The journey of a Chinese woman and her fellow countrymen as they travel in search of a better place to live, only to end up struggling for survival in the Balkans.
Style:
realistic, emotional, disturbing, suspenseful, serious ...
Plot:
refugee, survival, life is a bitch, political unrest, immigrant, danger, escapades, illegal immigration, post war, rescue from drowning, illegal immigrant, river ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
former yugoslavia, bosnia, croatia
Is relevant?
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
A Gulf War veteran with PTSD (Kilmer) heads to a small town to find his friend. When he arrives his friend and his family have vanished and the townsfolk afraid to answer questions about their disappearance. He soon discovers that the town is owned ...
Style:
suspenseful, realistic, tense, exciting, serious
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
politics, military, uncover truth, missing person, military life, retiring, danger, army investigation, soldier, spy, suicide bomber, illegal immigration ...
Place:
iraq, mexico, arizona
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 116 min.
Story:
Inspired by author Eric Schlosser's New York Times best-seller of the same name, director Richard Linklater's ensemble drama examines the health issues and social consequences of America's love affair with fast food and features an ...
Style:
talky, stylized, disturbing, semi serious, bad ending ...
Plot:
food, fast food restaurant, junk food, satire, cooking and food, butcher, hamburger, public health, illegal immigration, greed, health, fighting the system ...
Time:
year 2006, 21st century
Place:
texas, usa, colorado, mexico, california
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Family, Thriller
Country: Greece, Germany
Duration: 118 min.
Story:
A middle-aged fisherman living with his wife and daughter on Greece’s northern border, who is drowning in debt, starts to smuggle migrants across the border lake, in exchange for a hefty fee. Until a tragic incident strikes the family, pushing the ...
Style:
melancholic, tense, bleak, emotional, contemplative ...
Plot:
illegal immigration, desperation, social realism, family drama, human trafficking, family tragedy, moral dilemma, grief, loss, debt, poverty, small town ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: Mexico, France
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
Ivan, a 14-year old boy, lives with his uncle Jaime, a mediocre dealer of used car parts. Both of them dream with a better life and are stashing away their money in order to emigrate ilegally to Chicago shortly. When Jaime realizes that he needs ...
Style:
realistic, bleak, melancholic, tense, tension ...
Plot:
coming of age, uncle nephew relationship, border crossing, poverty, migration, family drama, illegal immigration, loss of innocence, friendship, juvenile delinquency, survival, coyote ...
Place:
latin america
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: Spain
Duration: 87 min.
Story:
Donald is a Nigerian immigrant who after being expelled from Spain three years ago, has returned to meet again with Teresa, with whom he had a secret love affair. But on arrival he finds that she has married and is mother of a child. However, the ...
Style:
tension, emotional, suspense, tragic
Plot:
illegal immigration, racism, immigration, social realism, humanity, xenophobia, love triangle, false accusation, jealousy, working class, forbidden love, betrayal of trust ...
Place:
spain, andalusia
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy
Country: Italy
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
We are all equal before the law, but some are just more equal than others. Antonio is a trainee lawyer who dreams of joining his mentor’s prestigious firm. But Salvatore “Toti” Bellastella, the Prince of the Forum, is also an exploitative ...
Style:
light, captivating, humorous, colorful, satirical ...
Plot:
dating show, lawyer, job, drug, mafia, escapades, criminal, training, illegal immigration, court, gang, prison ...
Place:
italy
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Family
Country: India
Duration: 138 min.
Story:
Looking to earn money for his family, a young man in the early 1900s travels to Canada to join a small group of fellow Punjabis working in a lumber mill. While there, the men face difficult working conditions and a growing threat, as locals begin to ...
Style:
captivating, suspense, disturbing, psychological, realistic ...
Audience:
family outing, adult
Plot:
punjabi, illegal immigration, social problems, workplace, immigrant, illegal immigrant, immigration, working class, coworker, lifestyle, social issues, workplace situations ...
Time:
90s
Place:
canada
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: France, Belgium, China
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
Based on a novel by Hugo Boris, Night Shift focuses on three Parisian police officers charged with driving a stranger back to the border. However, Virginie (Efira) realizes their prisoner will most likely be killed upon return to his country and so ...
Style:
crying
Plot:
massage, interracial sex, cheating wife, immigrant, police station, fear, police officer, airport, immigration officer, illegal immigration, illegal immigrant, unfaithful wife ...
Time:
2010s
Place:
paris france, france
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
