“Dear America, is this what you really want? Do you even know what is happening in your name?”
Most of us don’t know what is happening in our name.
This gorgeously written memoir is an important baby step towards Americans learning about our current deeply broken immigration system and the effects it has on our neighbors, classmates, coworkers, and– in Jose’s case– award-winning journalists. This book is a critical inspiration to getting us asking better questions about American immigration history (our long tradition of racist and ethnic exclusions, including but not limited to the long-standing Chinese Exclusion Act), where quota systems came from and how they are failing, the impossible challenges facing undocumented immigrants in the current system.
How do we create paths to citizenship for friends, family and neighbors we recognize as Americans without question until an ICE or border patrol agent asks for proof of citizenship?
May we all come away from this book asking that question and reaching out to our representatives at the state and federal level to make life a little easier on our undocumented neighbors.
–Kim R., Queen Anne Book Company, Seattle, WA
Find books that open eyes and hearts at Queen Anne Book Company and other independent bookstores.