Undocumented

How Immigration Became Illegal

By: Aviva Chomsky

Narrated by: Frankie Corzo

A longtime immigration activist explores what it means to be an undocumented American in this “impassioned and well-reported case for change” (New York Times).

In this illuminating work, immigrant rights activist Aviva Chomsky shows how “illegality” and “undocumentedness” are concepts that were created to exclude and exploit. With a focus on US policy, she probes how people, especially Mexican and Central Americans, have been assigned this status—and to what ends.

Blending history with human drama, Chomsky explores what it means to be undocumented in a legal, social, economic, and historical context. The result is a powerful testament of the complex, contradictory, and ever-shifting nature of status in America.

Critic reviews

“An impassioned and well-reported case for change . . . Chomsky ably lays out just how brutal life can be for the undocumented.”
—New York Times Sunday Book Review

“Undocumented adds smart, new, and provocative scholarship to the immigration debate.”
—Los Angeles Review of Books

“From the first page to the last, Undocumented is to immigrant rights movement what We Charge Genocide was to the African American movement—a dossier that sets aside quibbles about whether immigrants contribute to the US economy or not, whether immigrants speak English or not and gives flesh to the slogan, 'Immigrant rights are human rights.' A clear-headed and smart book that locates the struggles of immigrants squarely in the struggles for human rights. Nothing less is to be accommodated, and much more is to be imagined.”
—Vijay Prashad, author of The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South

“Professional in her scholarship, Chomsky has written a book that will be relevant to those who do not share her position as well as to those who do.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Dares to call the [immigration] problem ‘manufactured,’ one that could be solved with the stroke of a pen.”
—Ms. Magazine

Greatly informative.

Greatly informative. I found the history covered was both helpful and fair. At times it felt like facts were just being stated and I personally had difficulty intently listening. But overall, very good read. For the history alone it’s worth it. Definitely helped for and change some of my perspectives as a white male. I’d recommend it if you’re interested in immigration in general.

A must-read but not an easy read

Immigration for Central Americans is so convoluted and complicated that it seems a miracle that anyone ever makes it through the system who doesn't have deep resources. This book tries hard to help us understand why and how. The roots of our system go way back, and we should not be proud of how it has evolved. At times there just seems like too much detail, but without the detail it can't be understood. That said, you will find both passion and clarity amongst the complexity. I came away with a much deeper understanding of the problems undocumented immigrants face and why, and a renewed desire to do something about it.

Excellent historical account

As someone who is earnestly seeking answers about this issue, my stance has most definitely changed. Ms. Chomsky outlines the historical influences of why we are where we are today.

I’ve been shocked and stunned by my discovery here. After this book, I’m now a huge fan and am yearning to learn more.

Should be required reading for members of congress

I learned so much about us immigration but probably the most useful is how border security increases immigration all things equal, but structural forces like current events in other countries ultimately determine the flow rate.

Also insightful to me is the now obvious idea that by making immigration illegal we relegate undocumented to an undercaste that legalizes discrimination based on where you were born--something you have zero control over.

Overall one of the best social policy books I've read since The New Jim Crow.

History of immigration

The facts are jarring but necessary. The history of immigration in the USA is upsetting and heartbreaking. It is riddled with racism and classism.