The film tells the story of how increasing numbers of people are being obliged to act as border-guards in the communities where they live and work. As they go about their activities as employers, landlords, health workers, local government officials and educators they are being compelled to check the immigration status of people they come in contact with. Using interviews with people who have been tracking these developments and showing what it entails for all the people affected by the measures, the film sends a warning out as to what a ‘hostile environment’ for migrants is likely to mean for us all. The film is a riveting starting point to a discussion that needs to take place all across the UK, involving people from migrant communities and others concerned with the direction these developments are taking us.