The Making of a Dream: How a Group of Undocumented Immigrants Helped Change What It Means to Be American

Journalist Wides-Muñoz movingly traces the 12 years of attempted legislation and political activism that culminated in the DREAM Act, focusing on the remarkable, and remarkably common, stories of several youths affected by its central feature: a path toward permanent citizenship for people brought illegally to the U.S. as children. During the decade-long fight, her subjects grew up, went off to college, got married, and had children, watching and protesting as the legislation started and stalled. They organized a 1,500-mile walk to raise awareness for their cause, orchestrated lengthy sit-ins, and pushed President Obama to deliver on his campaign promises. The injustices Wides-Muñoz details are wrenching: an undocumented immigrant worried that calling an ambulance in a medical emergency would result in deportation; a daughter could not visit her father in an immigrant detention center lest she too be investigated; a mother was pulled over in a routine traffic stop and deportation proceedings were begun immediately. But there are uplifting moments as well, particularly in Brazilian-born Felipe Sousa’s journey, as he struggled to accept that he was gay before finding a partner in the immigration reform movement. With the DREAM Act’s fate currently uncertain, this is a timely look at a contentious issue. (Feb.)