The Ballad of Esequiel Hernández

Immigration is another hot topic this election season. Senators John McCain and Barack Obama both favor increasing security along the U.S.-Mexican border. But a new documentary film questions the use of the military to patrol the border.

In 1997, U.S. Marines patrolling the border shot and killed Esequiel Hernández Jr., an 18-year-old U.S. citizen and high school student. He was out herding goats with his .22 rifle when the Marines mistook him for a drug smuggler.

It was the first death of an American citizen by active U.S. military since Kent State in 1970. The story of his tragic death and its aftermath is told in a new documentary, "The Ballad of Esequiel Hernández," and the film’s director, Kieran Fitzgerald, joins Word of Mouth with more.

"The Ballad of Esequiel Hernández" premieres nationally on Tuesday, and airs at 11 p.m. on Sunday, July 20 on New Hampshire Public Television.