How does it feel to be unwanted? stories of resistance and resilience from Mexicans living in the United States

Description

"Each of these 13 stories of Mexicans in the United States are rich and humanizing, illuminating the scope and breadth of a frequently stereotyped population. Eileen Truax tells the stories of thirteen Mexican immigrants, some documented, some not living in America. Truax offers a comprehensive, highly personal portrait of the great diversity of the Mexican community by using the stories, words, and life experiences gathered from countless interviews. We meet Omar Leon, a day laborer in Los Angeles who coordinates the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, and plays with the popular band Los Jornaleros del Norte. We learn about Jeanette Vizguerra, who came to symbolize the sanctuary movement when she took shelter in a church in Denver in February 2017 to avoid an order of deportation. On April 20, she got a phone call telling her Time magazine had named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. After crossing the border illegally with his mother as a child, Al Labrada joined the military after high school to get on a path to citizenship; in March 2017 he was promoted to Captain in the Los Angeles Police Department. Many Mexicans in the United States are here legally, yet are still subject to the virulent anti-immigrant sentiment and bigotry that has existed for centuries";"Dreamers and their allies, those who care about immigration justice, and anyone interested in the experience of Mexicans in the US will respond to these stories of Mexican immigrants (some documented, some not) illuminating their complex lives. Regardless of status, many are subjected to rights violations, inequality, and violence--all of which existed well before the Trump administration--and have profound feelings of being unwanted in the country they call home"