AJ+ wins Lone Star Emmy award

AJ+ won a Lone Star Emmy for its video ‘What It’s Really Like To Be Caught By Border Patrol’ in the category of Public Affairs Programmes.

The story, filmed in McAllen, Texas, and part of Direct From’s Policing the Border series, features the experiences of immigrants who have been victims of harassment, mistreatment and serious human right violations by the US Customs and Border Protection.

The team received unprecedented access after spending eight weeks communicating with Border Patrol. They rode along with agents for seven hours, starting with their first arrests at 5am to capture and tell the story.

This is the second regional Emmy award won by the series. The first one was a 2022 Michigan Regional Emmy for the story ‘The Racist Border You Don’t Hear About’.

Commenting on Direct From’s multi-awarded series, Senior Producer Kate Elston said, “AJ+ Direct From is honoured to be awarded a second Emmy for our series on US Customs and Border Protection, an institution that operates with impunity from the Rio Grande Valley to the Canadian border.

Since 2010, at least 245 people have died as a result of an encounter with a border agent, and there are countless more reports of mistreatment, harassment and neglect every year. This award gives us at Direct From the determination to keep elevating voices that are dismissed by the powerful institutions that claim to protect us.”