At ICDI, we try to stay in the loop and as knowledgeable as our busy schedules allow. Here are a few book recommendations on the topics of migration, asylum seekers, and the Chicago area. We are also including some of our wonderful local bookstores for you to explore. If you have a book or bookstore recommendation, email us at hello@icdichicago.org.

Books:

• Migrating to Prison: America’s Obsession with Locking Up Immigrants
  • Author: César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández
  • Publication Date: 10/03/2023
  • ISBN: 9781620978313
  • Amazon Link
  • Description: “A powerful, in-depth look at the imprisonment of immigrants, addressing the intersection of immigration and the criminal justice system, with a new epilogue by the author.” – https://thenewpress.com/books/migrating-prison
• After the Last Border
  • Author: Jessica Goudeau
  • Publication Date: 08/03/2021
  • ISBN: 9780525559153
  • Amazon Link
  • Description: “After the Last Border is an intimate look at the lives of two women as they struggle for the twenty-first century American dream, having won the “golden ticket” to settle as refugees in Austin, Texas.” – https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/572566/after-the-last-border-by-jes

• My Boy Will Die of Sorrow
  
  • Author: Efrén C. Olivares
  • Publication Date: 07/12/2022
  • ISBN: 9780306847288
  • Amazon Link
  • Description: “This deeply personal perspective from a human rights lawyer—whose work on the front lines of the fight against family separations in
    South Texas intertwines with his own story of immigrating to the United States at thirteen—reframes the United States’ history as a nation of immigrants but also a nation against immigrants.” – https://myboywilldieofsorrow.com/home/hardcover/

• Refugee High: Coming of Age in America
  
  • Author: Elly Fishman
  • Publication Date: 10/03/023
  • ISBN: 9781620978320
  • Amazon Link
  • Description: “A year in the life of a Chicago high school with one of the nation’s highest proportions of refugees, told with “strong novel-like pacing” (Milwaukee Magazine)” – https://thenewpress.com/books/refugee-high

• Brother, I’m Dying
  
  • Author: Edwidge Danticat
  • Publication Date: 09/09/2008
  • ISBN: 9781400034307
  • Amazon Link
  • Description: “From the age of four, award-winning writer Edwidge Danticat came to think of her uncle Joseph as her “second father,” when she was placed in his care after her parents left Haiti for America. And so she was both elated and saddened when, at twelve, she joined her parents and youngest brothers in New York City. As Edwidge made a life in a new country, adjusting to being far away from so many who she loved, she and her family continued to fear for the safety of those still in Haiti as the political situation deteriorated.” – https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/36739/brother-im-dying-by-edwidg
    e-danticat/