Tag Archives: immigration

An Open Letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

I rarely post anything other than book reviews here, and I tend to avoid political discussions online. However, the current situation seems to call for action, and writing comes most readily to me.

As a resident of a non-border state, I may not fully appreciate the complexities of the immigration issue. But the present path pursued by ICE cannot be the answer.

The letter below to Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, references specific recent incidents and contains links to articles from major news outlets. Feel free to borrow from these if you wish to compose your own letters to leaders and representatives. Links to contact information appear at the bottom.

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Comings and Goings: History through the Eyes of Refugees

When I started collecting titles for World Refugee Day, I thought I might be hard pressed to assemble a respectable representation. But the abundance of books that came readily to hand testifies to the importance and relevance of this topic.

Circumstances that prompt people to leave behind home, property, and extended family are never felicitous, and the situations into which they arrive are often fraught. The books below sketch some of these departures and the variety of modes by which refugees make their way to a new life, sometimes over a span of years, sometimes in a matter of days or even hours.

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Inspiration and Generations: 17 Books for Asian-American & Pacific Islander Month

The books below came to me initially because of their relation to East, South, and Southeast Asia or the Middle East. As I read, images recurred: accomplished individuals, resourceful kids, legends and traditions. But by far the most common—and somewhat unexpected—was grandparents.

On reflection I realized the theme is a natural one. While parents are often consumed with utilitarian tasks aimed at keeping us alive, grandparents are an intimate link to the long flow of ancestry and heritage that contributes to our identity.

Ancestry is, of course, only one of many such streams. Genetics and personal experience, world events and the swirling currents of majority culture shape our preferences and perspectives.

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Immigrant Architect: Rafael Guastavino and the American Dream

by Berta de Miguel, Kent Diebolt, and Virginia Lorente, ill. Virginia Lorente (Tilbury, 2020, 60 pp., ages 8-12)

I picked up this volume several months ago in a search for architect biographies. It was only today, upon taking a closer look, that I realized its perfect suitability for Hispanic Heritage Month. The two Rafael Guastavinos, father and son, immigrated from Spain in 1881. The elder Guastavino was a successful architect who brought to the U.S. a distinctive building method that would leave a permanent mark on American architecture and engineering.

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Filed under book review, children's literature, history, picture books