Critical Incident: Death at the Border — HBO Documentary Revisits a Case That Still Haunts America

Some stories don’t fade with time — they demand to be revisited. HBO’s latest documentary, Critical Incident: Death at the Border, does exactly that, reopening one of the most disturbing and consequential border cases of the last 15 years.

Premiering December 29 on HBO and streaming on HBO Max, the documentary examines the 2010 death of Anastasio Hernández-Rojas, an undocumented Mexican immigrant who died while in U.S. Border Patrol custody — a case that continues to ripple through debates on immigration, accountability, and human rights.

When Does Critical Incident: Death at the Border Premiere?

• Release Date: Monday, December 29

• Time: 9:00–10:30 PM ET/PT

• Network: HBO

• Streaming: HBO Max

The documentary arrives as part of HBO Documentary Films’ continued focus on investigative, accountability-driven storytelling.

What Is Critical Incident About?

At the heart of the film is the 2010 death of Anastasio Hernández-Rojas, who was detained at a U.S.–Mexico border checkpoint and later died after a violent encounter with Border Patrol agents.

For years, the case lingered in obscurity — until eyewitness video footage surfaced.

That footage became the catalyst for a far-reaching investigation, tracked in the documentary from:

• A border checkpoint

• To federal agencies

• To Washington, D.C.

• And ultimately, to international human rights courts

The film follows journalists, attorneys, and Hernández-Rojas’ family as they attempt to uncover:

• What really happened

• Why accountability stalled

• And how institutional mechanisms were used to suppress scrutiny

The Shocking Focus: Inside the Border Patrol’s “Critical Incident Teams”

One of the documentary’s most unsettling revelations is the existence of Critical Incident Teams — a little-known internal unit within U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

According to the film:

• These teams were repeatedly involved in investigating incidents involving their own agency

• Their presence appears in multiple controversial border-related cases

• Patterns of internal handling, narrative control, and delayed accountability emerge

In 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officially disbanded the Critical Incident Teams, a move that directly connects back to cases like Hernández-Rojas’.

Why This Case Still Matters in 2025

The documentary makes one thing painfully clear: this is not just history.

Key developments highlighted in the film:

• The Inter-American Court of Human Rights formally recognized that Hernández-Rojas’ human rights were violated

• The court called for the reopening of the case

• The incident is now cited in discussions around border oversight and use-of-force policy

In an era where border enforcement remains one of the most polarizing political issues, Critical Incident reframes the conversation — not through ideology, but through evidence.

Who Directed Critical Incident?

The documentary is directed by Rick Rowley, an Academy Award®–nominated filmmaker best known for Dirty Wars.

Rowley’s approach is deliberate and restrained:

• No sensational reenactments

• No manufactured outrage

• A heavy reliance on documentation, video evidence, and testimony

That restraint makes the conclusions hit harder.

Production & Credits

Critical Incident is produced by:

• Crazyrose

• Film 45

• Midnight Films

Executive Producers Include:

• Rick Rowley

• A.C. Thompson

• Nathan Ross

• Jean-Marc Vallée

• Michael Antinoro

• Missy Walker

For HBO Documentary Films:

• Nancy Abraham

• Lisa Heller

• Tina Nguyen

The production pedigree reflects HBO’s long-standing commitment to investigative documentaries with lasting impact.

Is Critical Incident: Death at the Border Worth Watching?

If you value:

• Fact-driven documentaries

• Accountability journalism

• Human rights investigations

• Real-world consequences over talking points

Then yes — absolutely.

This is not a documentary designed to comfort viewers. It’s designed to confront them with unanswered questions, institutional silence, and the cost of unchecked power.

Final Take

Critical Incident: Death at the Border isn’t just about one man’s death — it’s about how systems protect themselves, how truth struggles to surface, and how long justice can be delayed without disappearing entirely.

HBO delivers a documentary that doesn’t tell you what to think — it shows you what happened, and lets the evidence speak.

Premieres December 29 on HBO and HBO Max.