Authors’ Reading from Amor and Exile: The Role of American Spouses of Undocumented Immigrants in the Immigration Debate

Reading from the new book Amor and Exile: The Role of American Spouses of Undocumented Immigrants in the Immigration Debate, previously showcased on the ImmigrationProf blog.

When: Thursday, October 24, 2013, 5:30 pm (talk at 6:30 pm)Where: International Institute of the Bay Area, 657 Mission St., Ste. 301, San Francisco. Free event.

In their new book, Amor and Exile: True Stories of Love Across America’s Borders, independent journalist Nathaniel Hoffman and writer-in-exile Nicole Salgado, both former Bay Area residents, offer a new way forward on the seemingly stalled effort to reform our nation’s immigration system. The book focuses on the harsh realities for American citizens who are married to undocumented immigrants—including same-sex couples in this post-DOMA era. At least half a million American citizens, and likely many more, face the stark choice of living underground with undocumented spouses or self deporting and risking life in exile for a decade or more.Hoffman will explain this catch-22 and the role it could play in breaking the immigration log jam on Capitol Hill in a talk at the International Institute of the Bay Area starting at 5:30 pm, Thursday, Ocotber 24, 657 Mission St. in San Francisco. Salgado will try to join the conversation via Skype from Mexico, where she has lived in exile, with her husband Margarito since 2006.

Hoffman and Salgado released Amor and Exile in June, personally delivering copies of the book to every member of Congress—an effort underwritten through a highly successful crowdfunding campaign in late May. Since that time, immigration reform has taken a back seat to economic squabbling, leaving millions of lives hanging in the balance.

KJ