“Immigration, at its core, is about the exceedingly complex, more integrated, constantly changing American story. And that is at the heart of this timely and important book. Immigration is not about ‘the border.’ It’s about families, it’s about communities, and as Nathaniel and Nicole vividly tell, it’s about love.”
—Jose Antonio Vargas, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, filmmaker and founder of Define American
“The plight of same-sex bi-national couples is one of the nation’s most significant untold stories. This moving, gripping and very timely book, brings to life the serious injustice and struggle that discriminatory laws impose. As someone who is part of such a couple, I’m grateful that there’s finally a book examining all aspects of this issue—and an outstanding book at that.”
—Glenn Greenwald, Guardian columnist, former constitutional lawyer and author of How Would a Patriot Act?, A Tragic Legacy and With Liberty and Justice for Some
“Beautifully told love stories that illuminate the many ways in which immigration can enrich our lives.”
—Helen Thorpe, author of Just Like Us: The True Story of Four Mexican Girls Coming of Age in America
“Amor and Exile is a highly gripping, personal and accurate account of the tragedies of our current immigration system, especially as they impact American families. It is particularly timely given Congress’ current focus on immigration reform.”
—Michael Davis, immigration attorney, Chair of USCIS International Operations Liaison Committee and Co-Editor, The Consular Practice Handbook
“Salgado movingly speaks of her own and of other Americans’ “disenfranchisement” and exile abroad due to the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. (…) Hoffman’s legal information is very accurate, thanks to several AILA members with whom he consulted while writing this book. (…) Let us hope that in this time of potential immigration reform, members of the House especially read these gripping personal stories of immigration and feel moved to make changes in the law that are long overdue.”
“If there is one enduring truth, it is that love of family will always drive human decisions. Through the stories of these American families, Amor and Exile exposes how immigration policies undermine the family unit and enforcement practices have little to no relationship to national security or safety. This book will explain why the immigration system makes it nearly impossible for people to attain legal status in a reasonable amount of time and how American families suffer through blind application of existing immigration laws.”
—Maria Andrade, immigration attorney, American Immigration Lawyers Association National ICE Liaison Committee, National Immigration Project board member and advisor to American Immigration Law Center Legal Action Center
“A mesmerizing, important look at some of the most overlooked people in the immigration debate—US citizens who follow their deported loved ones into an agonizing exile. Although no one keeps records of exiles, with 1.6 million deportations since 2009 alone, their numbers must be staggering. A must-read for anyone with a serious interest in understanding the complexities of illegal immigration”
—Ellin Jimmerson, Ph.D., historian, theologian and writer/director of The Second Cooler, an award-winning migrant justice documentary, narrated by Martin Sheen
“Closing the cover on Amor and Exile, it is clear that the book’s authors together have accomplished at least this: readers may reasonably expect to be changed by these stories of love, loss, and (in some cases) redemption. Perhaps they will begin to probe more deeply what it means to be an American family. They will almost certainly be more educated about the ways in which immigration law impacts and alienates American spouses and children. And in the end, they may just find themselves missing what they didn’t realize had been banished: the abundant strength, compassion, and optimism of citizens like Salgado—shared by the foreign nationals who are their family. In an era where the United States seems to have lost its connection to its own roots, we need these qualities more than ever.”
–Allison Cay Parker, Writer, editor, and contributor to The Rumpus online literary magazine
One Reply to “Praise for Amor and Exile”