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A review by laynemandros
The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
5.0
Review: The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
TW: deportation, mention of ICE raids, sickness, death of a family member, housing insecurity, food insecurity
“As an undocumented person, I felt like a hologram. Nothing felt secure. I never felt safe. I didn’t allow myself to feel joy because I was scared to attach myself to anything I’d have to let go of. Being deportable means you have to be ready to go at any moment, read to go with nothing but the clothes on your body.” (pg. 60)
Read this book. Everyone needs to read this book.
Villavicencio’s writing is raw and unfiltered as she portrays the stories of countless undocumented Americans that she spends time with, lives alongside, and interviews throughout this book. She discusses the ways in which undocumented Americans were gaslight after 9/11, charged with cleaning up the parts of Ground Zero that no one else would clean because it was too dangerous. When they got sick they were told that Ground Zero was still safe. The same thing is happening, presently, in Flint, Michigan. They went to doctors who said, “you just need to drink more water,” water that was killing them and making their babies go blind.
This own voice narrative lays bare the experiences of undocumented Americans and how they navigate and live in a country that doesn’t want them. I’ll continue to go back to this book. Everyone needs to read it. And once you read it, review it, share it widely, and urge others to read it.
TW: deportation, mention of ICE raids, sickness, death of a family member, housing insecurity, food insecurity
“As an undocumented person, I felt like a hologram. Nothing felt secure. I never felt safe. I didn’t allow myself to feel joy because I was scared to attach myself to anything I’d have to let go of. Being deportable means you have to be ready to go at any moment, read to go with nothing but the clothes on your body.” (pg. 60)
Read this book. Everyone needs to read this book.
Villavicencio’s writing is raw and unfiltered as she portrays the stories of countless undocumented Americans that she spends time with, lives alongside, and interviews throughout this book. She discusses the ways in which undocumented Americans were gaslight after 9/11, charged with cleaning up the parts of Ground Zero that no one else would clean because it was too dangerous. When they got sick they were told that Ground Zero was still safe. The same thing is happening, presently, in Flint, Michigan. They went to doctors who said, “you just need to drink more water,” water that was killing them and making their babies go blind.
This own voice narrative lays bare the experiences of undocumented Americans and how they navigate and live in a country that doesn’t want them. I’ll continue to go back to this book. Everyone needs to read it. And once you read it, review it, share it widely, and urge others to read it.