The cost of being undocumented One woman's reckoning with America's inhumane math

As conditions for immigrants, refugees, and our undocumented neighbors become ever more precarious, this book provides welcome insight and context. Dick and Garcia carefully lay out their approach to the research process as centering care and reciprocity, which--significantly--converts those who have traditionally been the subjects of research into partners who participate equally in the process as "co-constructor(s) of knowledge." This research project comes to life through coauthor Dick's story. Dick, who was hired by Garcia as a nanny for his household, narrates with a heartfelt and raw voice as she delves into the circumstances that led her from a privileged childhood in cartel-ridden Sinaloa to a precarious and vulnerable position in Georgia and later, in Southern California. This candid and often painful examination of cost includes chapters on employment, mental health, healthcare, and dreaming. Besides an accounting, Dick's story is also a propina (gift) to inspire understanding, dialogue, and action among readers. In addition to the careful explanation of their research methodology, the authors include meticulous notes and extensive references. The result is a formidable yet wholly accessible and relatable exposé of the unconscionable cost of undocumented immigration. An essential addition to all nonfiction collections.

In this illuminating account, Garcia (Pose, Wobble, Flow), an education professor at Stanford, helps tell the life story of filmmaker Dick. The authors' aim is to cast light on the material cost to Dick of America's burdensome immigration system. Dick grew up in a "very wealthy family" in Sinaloa, Mexico. In 2011, when she was 20 years old, her family was threatened by drug cartels and she fled to America. She eventually landed in California, where she supported herself as a nanny. Dick explains how as an undocumented immigrant, she suffered losses of time, mental health, and faith. She calls the system an "exhausting mental game" because, contrary to popular belief, undocumented immigrants are actually not unknown to the government ("The IRS, the DMV, the police, they all know you exist.... You are assigned a personal identification number that you use to pay taxes"). Rather, Dick suggests, undocumented immigrants are intentionally kept undocumented so they can't collect government benefits and can be exploited at work. The authors tally the price extracted from Dick between 2011 and 2023, incorporating some estimates like how much she was likely being underpaid; the total comes to $1,912,177. Part harrowing memoir, part rigorous case study, this makes for an eye-opening glimpse of undocumented life in America. (June)