“Ricochet” (2021), is an extremely eye-opening film regarding the politicization of immigration within the United States. This documentary takes a look at the 2015 murder trial of Jose Inés García Zárate for the murder of 32-year-old Kate Steinle, and uses footage from various sources to demonstrate how this trial was politicized. Due to the publicity this case received from the media giants, this case became not about whether Zárate murdered Steinle, but whether sanctuary cities were only a safe haven for ‘dangerous’ immigrants. This case also heightened the tensions about the immigration debate in the 2016 presidential election, with Donald Trump making Steinle a figurehead of sorts for his campaign.

This case was—and somewhat continues to be—monumental in terms of the intense intricacies that added all the layers to it. Firstly, Zárate did not directly shoot Steinle. As hard as it is to believe, when Zárate fired the gun (whether or not it was on purpose) the bullet ricocheted off of the concrete before hitting and killing Steinle who was approximately ninety-three feet away. Secondly, Zárate had an extensive record with the law, including five prior deportations from the United States for being here without authorization, and spending quite a few years in prison for a twenty-year-old marijuana possession charge. The fact that Zárate was in the country again without authorization when he allegedly killed Steinle is what sparked such an intense debate on sanctuary cities. There are many other facts that make this case so interesting, regarding the gun that killed Steinle, as well as whether or not Zárate was competent at the time of the shooting.

In general, this film does a good job of presenting the facts of the case as they stand without holding too much bias in favor of either Zárate or the prosecution. That being said, the majority of the footage was of Zárate’s lawyer, San Francisco public defender Matt Gonzalez, and his team preparing for the many hearings that took place before the final verdict was made. Unfortunately, videography was prohibited in all of the hearings of the case. However, footage from Zárate’s questioning in police custody, footage from San Francisco security cameras, and news footage supplement the preparation portions well. I personally enjoyed this variation between the sections, and mixing things up helped keep the movie engaging.

This film is definitely a good watch for learning a little bit more about how the justice system and immigration in the United States work. Taking home the award for best feature film at the El Paso Film Festival in 2022, I think that it is clear how impactful this documentary is. Zárate ended up being found not guilty of murder by a jury in 2017, but was convicted of possession of a firearm later that year. After his sentence is up, he will most likely be deported for the sixth time, and who knows what will happen after that. Immigration is still one of the hottest topics in politics today, and in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election, one can only assume that things are going to get extremely heated once again.