César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández | The New Press, 2019 | Book
Taking readers inside the immigration prison network that currently exists in the United States, García Hernández describes how incarcerating people for violating immigration law went from being unusual to becoming the knee-jerk reaction that Republicans and Democrats both endorse. Bringing to life the risks of incarceration for migrants, their families, and the US immigration law system, García Hernández calls for the abolition of immigration prisons.
Efrén C. Olivares | Hachette Books, 2022 | Book
Deeply personal and richly researched by a migrant who later found himself a lawyer on the frontlines of immigration legal battles, My Boy Will Die of Sorrow puts on display the life that migrants inject into the United States and the harsh border policies that they frequently encounter.
Terry Greene Sterling and Jude Joffe-Block | University of California Press, 2021 | Book
For years, Arizona’s Joe Arpaio targeted migrants from his perch in the sheriff’s office and enjoyed his fame as the self-proclaimed toughest cop in the United States. Tapping Arpaio’s willingness to talk, journalists Sterling and Joffe-Block describe the sheriff’s willingness to ignore laws and shatter decency in the name of policing migrants — all the while fomenting a network of activists who would eventually topple him.
Valeria Luiselli | Coffee House Press, 2017 | Book
In this short nonfiction account of her time helping children navigate the immigration bureaucracy, Luiselli highlights the inhumanity of the immigration law system. At its core, Tell Me How It Ends exposes the contradiction of US immigration law: the country’s reputation as a land of opportunity is tarnished by a legal labyrinth that puts up roadblocks to migrants, including children, who seek safety here.
Francisco Cantú | Riverhead Books, 2019 | Book
Cantú’s memoir is a captivating account of the author’s time working as a Border Patrol agent. It reveals the complexity of life on the border and the contradictions of US border policies.
Todd Miller | City Lights Open Media, 2014 | Book
A journalist with a long history of covering US immigration policies, Miller’s Border Patrol Nation uncovers the immense growth of the country’s main border-policing agency and its remarkable reach well beyond the country’s borders.
Erika Andiola | RAICES | Listen
Hosted by the longtime migrants’ rights activist Erika Andiola, this 8-part podcast uses the stories of formerly detained migrants to describe how immigration prisons expanded in the United States.
