U.S. lawmakers are sparring over immigration hearings, cases of legal immigrants and tourists being detained continue to grow, and overall tensions between protesters and law enforcement officers keep rising in cities like Los Angeles and beyond. Overall, The New York Times reports that an estimated "900 protesters in at least 10 cities have been arrested since Friday [June 6] in demonstrations against federal immigration raids."Searching the word "immigration" on Google Trends with parameters set to the past 30 days shows top related queries like "what is immigration" and "U.S. immigration," which suggest that the average person is trying to understand what the concept of immigration in the U.S. even means.In 2023, Julio Torres made his big screen debut as the director, writer, and lead star of the surrealist dramedy Problemista released by A24. The film centers on Alejandro, whose life story is similar to Torres's. Both the character and the creator are born in El Salvador, move to the U.S. with big dreams, and must navigate the complex maze of the immigration system.If you haven't seen Problemista and are genuinely confused about why migrants have a hard time navigating the daunting and dizzying dynamics of the U.S. immigration system, you might get a pretty good understanding from the short but potent "maze" scene in the film.So let's break that down.The scene starts with Alejandro (Torres) visiting his immigration lawyer, Khalil (played by Laith Nakli).Khalil asks, "You gotta get another sponsor. Pronto. Rapido. What happened to the toy people? They won't hire you?""I don't know. I mean, they're just not gonna be taking applications for a while," Alejandro replies.An immediately impatient Khalil says, "OK, look, you don't have a while. You have a month to find someone to co-sign your visa. And if you don't, you have to leave the U.S.""Yeah, I, I, I, I've been working on that," Alejandro responds, stuttering. "I started freelancing for this lady. She's Well, whatever. It'll just be a few hours here and there."Khalil asks, "Well, that's rapido. You think this lady can sponsor you?""I mean, we'll see," Alejandro responds.Khalil is fascinated. "We'll see" he muses. "That's a better slogan for us: 'We'll see.'" The immigration lawyer adds, "Look, the other thing is: You can't take money right now. I hope this lady's not paying you.""What do you mean?" Alejandro asks.Khalil explains, "You can't take money until they officially sponsor you."The maze scene in Problemista begins, and legendary actress Isabella Rossellini (Blue Velvet, Death Becomes Her, Conclave) is the narrator.The rules of the game are as follows:First, you must find a sponsor for a work visa.Then, you must submit it by paying application and lawyer fees totaling up to around $6,000.And only then is Alejandro allowed to earn money Money that he needs so he can submit his application to, well, earn money.And he must do it before the fall of the last grain of sand.The maze is impossible to navigate Unless, of course, he's willing to bend the rules.See on InstagramThe maze scene cuts back to Alejandro facing his immigration attorney."Cash," Khalil says. "You need cash."In the next scene, Alejandro is seen on his computer exploring job posts on Craigslist specifically looking for cash-based opportunities, such as sex work, which is what he ends up doing for money later that night.Problemista is now streaming on Max.