Denied, Detained, Deported: Stories from the Dark Side of American Immigration

Have you read the poem by Emma Lazarus a the foot of the Statue of Liberty? The last line says " I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" This book published by National Geographic and written by Ann Bausum is powerfully written and full of unbelievable injustices. True stories of people you will meet are: Herb Karliner, age 12 and his Jewish family, escaping Germany's concentration camps being denied entry into the U.S.; Mary Matsuda, a 16 year old Chinese-American teenager and her family and neighbors, rounded up, given a number and detained at Tule Lake Relocation camp. Though camp is a flowery word for what really was a prison. Chinese and Mexican workers, deported when their services are no longer needed. Even a law forbidding Chinese Americans from becoming citizens. Throughout this 112 page book there is archival photos and a six page detailed time line, resource guide and bibliography are in the back. This book will have you thinking about the United States being a land of opportunity. Arguments for and against immigration tend to repeat themselves, maybe looking at our past, we can learn from our mistakes.