ASYLUM SEEKERS

Accounts of Western Hemisphere individuals and families seeking asylum exemplify the varied situations that drive people to try to enter the United States via the U.S.–Mexico border.

While facts and figures are also provided, it is the stories of these children, youths, and adults that will resonate with readers. The book particularly focuses on the Trump and Biden administrations and makes some distinctions between changing governmental policies. Opening by explaining the reasons many contemporary asylum seekers are escaping their home countries—for example, gangs, domestic abuse, and difficult economic situations—the book’s second chapter describes the hazardous journeys many undertake. The third chapter goes into what happens once they reach the border, and the volume wraps up by surveying immigration policies and the asylum-seeking process and their impact on migrants. Stock color photos break up the text, and quotes from asylum seekers and those who support them are presented in colorful text boxes, emphasizing the personal nature of the narratives. A good resource for school reports, this slim book does a more-than-adequate job of accurately describing the issues and the problems that many asylum seekers face: the travel dangers, squalid conditions on both sides of the border, confusing legal changes, and overcrowded court calendars that leave people in precarious situations for years.

Useful and accessible: provides background on and powerful descriptions of the experiences of asylum seekers.