Eileen Truax

Immigration is an emotionally charged and divisive topic here in the US. But the debates are too often devoid of facts and instead based solely on conjecture and subjective opinion. If you're going to object to or defend immigration, then you really should know what you're talking about. I'd like to put this book into everyone's hands and tell them to read it before our national discussions go any further.

This book is relatively short, focusing on the issue of asylum as an immigration option. We learn how and why Mexicans in particular are forced to take this route as their only legal entry into the US. In discussing asylum, the author also shows us why so many Mexicans are in the US illegally. We look at our country's part in this issue, and we see the humanity behind the "illegals".

The writing style is narrative and engaging. This isn't at all a dry academic kind of read, but is one that might make you look differently at the plight of immigrants.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via Amazon Vine, in exchange for my honest review.*… (mer)

Dreamers attempts to humanize the immigration debate by showcasing the lives of about a dozen young people who were brought to the US as children, were educated and raised here, and then found their futures blocked by their illegal status. The focus was primarily on their inability to access higher education (hence the cap on the cover) but mention was made of the sort of challenges faced by all illegal immigrants, restricted mobility, few job prospects, and the constant threat of a near permanent separation from family and loved ones.

I'm someone who is more interested in the statistical argument. I want to know the costs and the benefits, how many people are affected and how, on as concrete terms as possible. This book doesn't offer any of that sort of argument beyond a bibliography in the back, and instead tries to appeal to empathy towards individual human beings who's entire lives are shaped by these restrictions on their lives. The language is not academic at all. It's conversational, maybe a little gradeschoolish, but articulate, and for such a difficult issue, optimistic and empowering in the way it describes the steps activists have taken to challenge immigration law in the US. It may not be the best way to argue policy, but I think it is useful to understand what exactly our immigration policy means to those who are most affected by it, and I think this book does a good job bringing forth those stories.… (mer)

Before making any judgments about legal versus illegal immigration. On the one hand illegal immigration powers a good many industries and fields that most US citizens (I won't say Americans because people from South and Central America, and Canadians are equally "American" ) will not work in (e.g. migrant farmwork, sweatshops, slaughterhouses, non-unionized construction work). On the other hand there are people who immigrate legally who take the time and effort to do things the right way and to take part in our culture, and our history while maintaining their own cultural ties -- just as the Irish, Italians, Germans, French Canadians, and Scots have all done in the last 300 years. However, I do not believe these adolescents and young adults should be punished because their parents chose not to immigrate the legal way- they were children and hence not responsible for any actions taken to illegally enter the US. "Anchor babies" as many call them are born citizens of the US and are entitled to hold a job, to pay taxes, to fight in our military and to attend our schools and colleges without fear of retribution from fear-mongering politicians and right wing domestic terror groups like the vigilante groups guarding the Mexico/US border or the KKK. This book highlights the concerns and issues faced by these young people as they struggle to build lives in the US often without families or any type of social support network.… (mer)