BookIllegal : reflections of an undocumented immigrant
Personal name
Main title
- Illegal : reflections of an undocumented immigrant / José Ángel N.
Published/Produced
- Urbana : University of Illinois Press, 2014.
More Information
LCCN Permalink
Description
- xiv, 115 pages ; 23 cm.
ISBN
- 9780252038310 (hardback)
- 9780252079863 (paperback)
LC classification
- F548.9.M5 N3 2014
Summary
- "A day after N. first crossed the U.S. border from Mexico, he was caught and then released onto the streets of Tijuana. Undeterred, N. crawled back through a tunnel to San Diego, where he entered the United States forever. Illegal: Reflections of an Undocumented Immigrant is his timely and compelling memoir of building a new life in America. Authorial anonymity is required to protect this life. Arriving in the 1990s with a 9th grade education, N. traveled to Chicago where he found access to ESL classes and GED classes. He eventually attended college and graduate school and became a professional translator. Despite having a well-paying job, N. was isolated by a lack of official legal documentation. Travel concerns made big promotions out of reach. Vacation time was spent hiding at home, pretending that he was on a long-planned trip. The simple act of purchasing his girlfriend a beer at a Cubs baseball game caused embarrassment and shame when N. couldn't produce a valid ID. A frustrating contradiction, N. lived in a luxury high-rise condo but couldn't fully live the American dream. He did, however, find solace in the one gift America gave him--his education. Ultimately, N.'s is the story of the triumph of education over adversity. In Illegal he debunks the stereotype that undocumented immigrants are freeloaders without access to education or opportunity for advancement. With bravery and honesty, N. details the constraints, deceptions, and humiliations that characterize alien life "amid the shadows." "-- Provided by publisher.
LC Subjects
Other Subjects
- BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs.
- BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Cultural Heritage.
- BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Literary.
Browse by shelf order
Series
- Latinos in Chicago and Midwest
LCCN
- 2013032194
Dewey class no.
- 305.868/720787311
Geographic area code
- n-us-il n-us---
Other class no.
- BIO026000 BIO002000 BIO007000
Invalid ISBN
- 9780252096181 (e-book)
Type of material
- Book
Content type
- text
Media type
- unmediated
Carrier type
- volume
Item Availability
Shelf Location
- FLM2014 171402
CALL NUMBER
Request in
- Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms (FLM1)
Status
- Not Charged
Shelf Location
- FLM2015 047356
CALL NUMBER
Request in
- Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms (FLM2)
Status
- Not Charged
