The sudden drop in the number of immigrants in the U.S. comes at a time when fertility rates among the native-born population are also falling. Research in economics suggests that these two trends could tip a precarious economy into decline.

In her short film Unpacking Immigration, anthropology doctoral candidate Harleen Bal illuminates what she calls the “unseen middle step between the farm and the table” by exploring the lives of immigrant meatpackers living in Livingston, California.