Illegal Immigration Film Elicits Strong Emotions

East Hampton filmmaker debuted his new documentary "" to a packed theater at on Saturday night.

The film, which Lynch said takes a non-partisan look at illegal immigration, elicited strong emotions and opinions from the audience.

There was at least 100 people who were turned away without tickets to the premiere.

Former news anchor John Roland took part in the film's making, helping to conduct interviews with Florida politicians during the recent governor's race. The film shows how they ran — literally — from answering whether they had a solution to the problem.

Roland told Lynch in the film that moving to Miami in retirement was like moving to Latin America. "If we don't do something about illegal immigration today, that's the way our country will be tomorrow," he said.

Lynch asks throughout the film how illegal immigration will stop. Answers like, "When there's no more work," caused protestor Tom Wedell, known for his presence in front of the 7-11 in Southampton, to clap. So did much of the audience.

Comments from an immigration advocate in which she referred to illegal immigrants as "unauthorized" garnered groans from some.

Lynch, who travels to the border and also hires two workers at the train station in the film, focuses in on one illegal immigrant named Mauricio, to whom he took a liking. Mauricio, who supports a baby and wife, lives in a house with eight other men in East Hampton. Mauricio tells of his journey to America, being smuggled in a truck across the Mexican border and being held by the smugglers until his father sends another $6,000.

A question and answer period period following the premiere got a little raucous. A clip can be seen above.

JB D'Santos of East Hampton thought the film was unbalanced. He asked Lynch why it focused so much on Latinos and not people of other nationalities. Lynch said he filmed what he saw, and he didn't see Irish and Germans, for example.

D'Santos, who emigrated from Brazil, said if the movie had been about the border, than it was understandable why it looked at Latinos. "If the movie is about illegal immigration, then it should have all the other immigrants in the movie as well," he said in an email later.

Others thanked Lynch for making the film — one even suggesting he'd win an Oscar. But, he explained, he's been turned down by most film festivals so far.

For more on "They Come to America" visit its website.