Books
*** These books were written by local authors
Classic Fiction
The Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle 1995
A classic about middle-class values, illegal immigration, xenophobia, poverty, and environmental destruction, set in Southern California.
A classic about middle-class values, illegal immigration, xenophobia, poverty, and environmental destruction, set in Southern California.
Classic Non-Fiction
Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario 2014
Revised and updated edition of the 2006 original bestseller. "Enrique is a teenager from Honduras who sets out on a journey, braving hardship and peril, to find his mother, who had no choice but to leave him when he was a child and go to the United States in search of work."
*** The Death of Josseline: Immigration Stories from the Arizona Borderlands by Margaret Regan 2010
For years, Margaret Regan has reported on the escalating chaos along the Arizona-Mexico border, ground zero for immigration since 2000. Fourteen-year-old Josseline, a young girl from El Salvador who was left to die alone on the migrant trail, was just one of thousands to perish in its deserts and mountains.
Devil's Highway: A True Story by Luis Urrea 2005
"In May 2001, a group of men attempted to cross the border into the desert of southern Arizona, through the deadliest region of the continent, a place called the Devil's Highway."
Revised and updated edition of the 2006 original bestseller. "Enrique is a teenager from Honduras who sets out on a journey, braving hardship and peril, to find his mother, who had no choice but to leave him when he was a child and go to the United States in search of work."
*** The Death of Josseline: Immigration Stories from the Arizona Borderlands by Margaret Regan 2010
For years, Margaret Regan has reported on the escalating chaos along the Arizona-Mexico border, ground zero for immigration since 2000. Fourteen-year-old Josseline, a young girl from El Salvador who was left to die alone on the migrant trail, was just one of thousands to perish in its deserts and mountains.
Devil's Highway: A True Story by Luis Urrea 2005
"In May 2001, a group of men attempted to cross the border into the desert of southern Arizona, through the deadliest region of the continent, a place called the Devil's Highway."
Fiction
Jumping by Dana Wildsmith 2016
A story about the relationship between a Mexican boy, who eventually jumps the border, and an American teacher. It was inspired by the author’s visits to Nogales, Sonora with the Samaritans.
The Jaguar's Children by John Vaillant 2015
A harrowing story about crossing the U.S. and Mexico border, based on a dreadful 2003 tragedy in Texas, weaving together multiple current themes.
Highwire Moon by Susan Straight 2013
A new edition of the 2001 original, with a new introduction by the author. The story of a young mother deported and separated from her child, and the pair's efforts to locate each other years later.
A story about the relationship between a Mexican boy, who eventually jumps the border, and an American teacher. It was inspired by the author’s visits to Nogales, Sonora with the Samaritans.
The Jaguar's Children by John Vaillant 2015
A harrowing story about crossing the U.S. and Mexico border, based on a dreadful 2003 tragedy in Texas, weaving together multiple current themes.
Highwire Moon by Susan Straight 2013
A new edition of the 2001 original, with a new introduction by the author. The story of a young mother deported and separated from her child, and the pair's efforts to locate each other years later.
Non-Fiction
*** A Stranger at My Door by Peg Bowden 2019
Struggling with both fear and compassion, Bowden challenges us to consider how we treat the stranger in our midst.
Sand and Blood - America's Stealth War on the Mexico Border by John Carlos Frey 2019
A dire portrait of the human consequences of border militarization over 30 years including the roles of defense and technology contractors and the U.S. government.
*** Empire of Borders by Todd Miller 2019
Using investigative journalism Miller reveals how the United States has built a worldwide enforcement network that is highly militarized and profoundly dehumanizing.
*** The Line Becomes a River by Francisco Cantú 2018
Cantú's experience as a Border Patrol agent reveals the complexity and the inhumanity of immigration policy in a personal way.
*** Storming the Wall: Climate Change, Migration, and Homeland Security by Todd Miller 2018
Todd Miller travels around the world to connect the dots between climate-ravaged communities, the corporations cashing in on border militarization, and emerging movements for sustainability and environmental justice.
Tell Me How It Ends - An Essay in Forty Questions by Valeria Luiselli 2017
Narrative non-fiction from a volunteer court translator for undocumented migrant children from Central America, based on the intake questionnaire.
*** Migrant Deaths in the Arizona Desert: La vida no vale nada
by Editors Rubio-Goldsmith, Fernandez, Finch and Masterson-Algar 2016
Addresses migrant deaths and disappearances in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands as they reflect on the startling realities of death, migration, and public policy.
Human Cargo: A Journey Among Refugees by Caroline Moorehead 2016
New edition of a 2005 book. An arresting portrait of the lives of today's refugees.
*** Detained and Deported by Margaret Regan 2016
An intimate look at the people ensnared by the US detention and deportation system, the largest in the world
A Land of Open Graves by Jason De Leon, anthropologist 2015
Shedding light on one of the most pressing political issues of our time—the human consequences of US immigration policy
*** A Land of Hard Edges by Peg Bowden, RN 2014
True stories and personal reflections by Peg Bowden, a retired nurse, who volunteers at a migrant shelter on the Mexico border
Undocumented: How Immigration Became Illegal by Aviva Chomsky 2014
Exploring what it means to be undocumented in a legal, social, economic and historical context
*** Border Patrol Nation by Todd Miller 2014
A vision of what the military-industrial complex looks like once it's transported, jobs and all, to the US-Mexican border and turned into a consumer mall for the post-9/11 era
Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies by Seth Holmes, MD, PhD 2013
An intimate examination of the everyday lives and suffering of Mexican migrants in our contemporary food system
Continental Divide by Krista Schlyer 2012
Stunning and poignant photography interspersed with cogent writing show us the damage being done to the fauna and flora of the borderlands by our misguided border security policies in general and the border wall in particular
Moving Millions: How Coyote Capitalism Fuels Global Immigration by Jeffrey Kaye 2010
Knocking down myth after myth. Challenging the view that immigrants themselves motivate immigration, rather than the policies of businesses and governments in both rich and poor nations
*** Crossing With The Virgin: Stories From The Migrant Trail by Kathryn Ferguson, Dr. Norma Price, Ted Parks 2010
Crossing With the Virgin collects stories heard from migrants about these treacherous treks—firsthand accounts told to volunteers for the Samaritans, a humanitarian group that seeks to prevent such unnecessary deaths by providing these travelers with medical aid, water, and food.
Dying to Cross: The Worst Immigrant Tragedy in American History by Jorge Ramos 2006
A tragic story about the death of nineteen people, the final hours of their incredible ordeal, and the network of individuals and countries who profit
Struggling with both fear and compassion, Bowden challenges us to consider how we treat the stranger in our midst.
Sand and Blood - America's Stealth War on the Mexico Border by John Carlos Frey 2019
A dire portrait of the human consequences of border militarization over 30 years including the roles of defense and technology contractors and the U.S. government.
*** Empire of Borders by Todd Miller 2019
Using investigative journalism Miller reveals how the United States has built a worldwide enforcement network that is highly militarized and profoundly dehumanizing.
*** The Line Becomes a River by Francisco Cantú 2018
Cantú's experience as a Border Patrol agent reveals the complexity and the inhumanity of immigration policy in a personal way.
*** Storming the Wall: Climate Change, Migration, and Homeland Security by Todd Miller 2018
Todd Miller travels around the world to connect the dots between climate-ravaged communities, the corporations cashing in on border militarization, and emerging movements for sustainability and environmental justice.
Tell Me How It Ends - An Essay in Forty Questions by Valeria Luiselli 2017
Narrative non-fiction from a volunteer court translator for undocumented migrant children from Central America, based on the intake questionnaire.
*** Migrant Deaths in the Arizona Desert: La vida no vale nada
by Editors Rubio-Goldsmith, Fernandez, Finch and Masterson-Algar 2016
Addresses migrant deaths and disappearances in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands as they reflect on the startling realities of death, migration, and public policy.
Human Cargo: A Journey Among Refugees by Caroline Moorehead 2016
New edition of a 2005 book. An arresting portrait of the lives of today's refugees.
*** Detained and Deported by Margaret Regan 2016
An intimate look at the people ensnared by the US detention and deportation system, the largest in the world
A Land of Open Graves by Jason De Leon, anthropologist 2015
Shedding light on one of the most pressing political issues of our time—the human consequences of US immigration policy
*** A Land of Hard Edges by Peg Bowden, RN 2014
True stories and personal reflections by Peg Bowden, a retired nurse, who volunteers at a migrant shelter on the Mexico border
Undocumented: How Immigration Became Illegal by Aviva Chomsky 2014
Exploring what it means to be undocumented in a legal, social, economic and historical context
*** Border Patrol Nation by Todd Miller 2014
A vision of what the military-industrial complex looks like once it's transported, jobs and all, to the US-Mexican border and turned into a consumer mall for the post-9/11 era
Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies by Seth Holmes, MD, PhD 2013
An intimate examination of the everyday lives and suffering of Mexican migrants in our contemporary food system
Continental Divide by Krista Schlyer 2012
Stunning and poignant photography interspersed with cogent writing show us the damage being done to the fauna and flora of the borderlands by our misguided border security policies in general and the border wall in particular
Moving Millions: How Coyote Capitalism Fuels Global Immigration by Jeffrey Kaye 2010
Knocking down myth after myth. Challenging the view that immigrants themselves motivate immigration, rather than the policies of businesses and governments in both rich and poor nations
*** Crossing With The Virgin: Stories From The Migrant Trail by Kathryn Ferguson, Dr. Norma Price, Ted Parks 2010
Crossing With the Virgin collects stories heard from migrants about these treacherous treks—firsthand accounts told to volunteers for the Samaritans, a humanitarian group that seeks to prevent such unnecessary deaths by providing these travelers with medical aid, water, and food.
Dying to Cross: The Worst Immigrant Tragedy in American History by Jorge Ramos 2006
A tragic story about the death of nineteen people, the final hours of their incredible ordeal, and the network of individuals and countries who profit