Amreeka (2009)

This movie follows the indomitably good-natured protagonist of “Amreeka,” Muna Farah (Nisreen Faour), a divorced non-Muslim Palestinian woman with a green card emigrating to America with her son.
The film starts by show Muna stoically enduring the daily humiliation of having to pass through two Israeli checkpoints on her grueling commute from Bethlehem to work in a bank. For all the hardships of life in the West Bank, in coming to America, she is forsaking a relatively comfortable and known existence to venture into the unknown with her 16-year-old son, Fadi (Melkar Muallem).
They quickly find out that the Israeli's have not cornered the market on humiliation. At the Chicago airport, where they are detained for hours, mother and son endure the same sort of hostile interrogation they received at West Bank checkpoints. After finally passing through immigration, they are met by Muna’s severe sister, Raghda Halaby (Hiam Abbass, from 'The Lemon Tree'), and her family, who live in a semi-rural suburb. Raghda left the West Bank 15 years earlier but is still profoundly homesick and is married to a Palestinian doctor, Nabeel (Yussef Abu Warda).
“Amreeka” maintains an upbeat mood . Muna and Fadi confront hostility and prejudice, and their misadventures, some of which augur disaster, are resolved without too much grief. The film’s tone reflects the resilience and sunny temperament of Muna. Desperate for work and unable to find it, Muna takes a job at a White Castle next door. At school, Fadi encounters ethnic slurs and bullying, and in the most serious incident is arrested after retaliating. So things are not easy, but they both cope and they do not complain or let it change their outlook.
The film shows a lot of harsh aspects to the immigrant story, but it is a hopeful tone--they are making friends with Americans, sharing their culture, and letting their new home into their lives.