@guardian: How do I live, when I’m neither here nor there?’ Abel Ortiz arrived in the US when he was only two months old. He went on to live for 38 years in Los Angeles, rarely stepping outside the city. Until Donald Trump came along, casting undocumented people like him as public enemy No 1, Ortiz perceived himself to be wholly American. But last August, that changed. He packed two bags and left behind a thriving hair salon business, his best friend and a community he had cultivated over decades. “I’ve done the hardest thing I ever could,” Ortiz says. “There are days when I feel literally insane with the duality of it.” When film-maker Isabel Castro and her producers Jamie Gonçalves and Brian Donahoe, both Ortiz’s clients, learned he was leaving, they followed their instincts and instantly began filming. The result is a 14-minute Guardian documentary that captures Abel’s poignant final week in LA. Swipe to see clips from the film as well as what Ortiz’s life is like now, eight months later. Follow the link in bio to see the full story or film. Photos and video taken by Isabel Castro

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Friday 27 March 2026 16:56:21 GMT