46 pages • 1 hour read
Diane Guerrero, Michelle BurfordIn the Country We Love: My Family Divided
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2016A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
EpilogueChapter Summaries & Analyses
Epilogue Summary: “Call to Action”
This section addresses current immigration policies, which are particularly harmful to children. Guerrero cites sobering statistics and reminds readers that the children of deportees are at high risk of depression and PTSD. Some end up in foster care, others bounce from one relative or friend to another, and many slip through the cracks, making them targets for traffickers and gangs. Guerrero discusses her experiences with the system: After ICE deported her parents, no government agency checked on her, there was no hotline to call, and she was unaware of her rights as a citizen. She pushes back against harmful stereotypes, noting that undocumented immigrants contribute to the social safety net, stimulate economic growth through their purchasing power, and provide cheap labor in industries shunned by Americans, such as agriculture.
Many undocumented laborers face exploitation and work in deplorable conditions. Detainee abuse is equally rampant in a private prison system designed to profit from society’s most vulnerable. As Guerrero observes, the immigration system is broken and outdated, resulting in unreasonable wait times for those seeking citizenship and legal residency. The cost of mass deportation is astronomical. Border walls do not prevent undocumented immigrants from entering the country, nor do they address the problem of those already living here. The vast majority of Americans support commonsense immigration reform, but the government’s response has been slow and largely ineffective. Guerrero ends her memoir by asking readers to get involved and vote.
Epilogue Analysis
The Epilogue strikes a more serious tone than the rest of the book. Rather than focusing on Guerrero’s personal experiences, it aims both to inform readers and to urge them to act in support of immigration reform. Guerrero cites statistics to counter arguments favoring harsh immigration policies. The staggering numbers related to children support her stance: The Department of Homeland Security deported 70,000 parents of US-born children in 2013; and seven percent of K-12 students, most of whom are US citizens by birth, have at least one undocumented parent.
In short, the current system leaves tens of thousands of children frightened and in limbo. Guerrero also draws on statistics to counter negative stereotypes about undocumented immigrants, namely, that they are lazy and a burden on the social safety net. She reveals that undocumented workers contribute roughly 15 billion dollars to Social Security. Without them, the program would lose 10 percent of its funding. She further points out that more than half of the country’s 2.5 million farmhands are undocumented. Their low wages keep food affordable. Other industries that rely heavily on undocumented labor include construction, home improvement, restaurants, and the janitorial industry.
Guerrero’s firm grasp of immigration issues, combined with her broad platform as a performer and personal experiences with the system, make her an effective advocate for reform. She argues that the most humane and economically beneficial path forward is to grant undocumented immigrants citizenship. Once again, she supports her claim with concrete numbers: Mass deportations cost an estimated 400-600 billion dollars. Without undocumented labor and spending, the nation’s GDP would drop by more than 1.5 trillion dollars. Guerrero takes issue with current immigration policies and practices.
The border wall, for instance, is a costly and ineffective tool given that most undocumented immigrants arrive by airplane and overstay their visas. Guerrero calls on the government to act. President Obama’s use of executive authority in 2014 to expand the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) provided relief to 5 million undocumented immigrants. The Trump Administration rescinded these actions, yet more changes are needed. The current system remains overburdened. Siblings of US citizens wait as many as 20 years for their applications for sponsorship to be processed. Undocumented immigrants with a citizen spouse or child must wait up to 10 years outside the country during the green card application process. Eighty-seven percent of Americans favor immigrations policies that provide a path to citizenship for the undocumented. Guerrero is strategic with her use of data, choosing statistics that are impactful, and presenting them in an intelligible way.
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