About the Book
Immigrants arrive from around the world for countless reasons. Many come simply to make a living. Others are fleeing persecution in their native countries. Millions of immigrants risk deportation and imprisonment by living in the U.S. without legal status. They are living underground, with little protection from exploitation at the hands of human smugglers, employers, or law enforcement. Underground America, the third book in the Voice of Witness series, presents the remarkable oral histories of men and women struggling to carve a life for themselves in the U.S.
Narrators Include:
FARID, an Iranian-American business owner who employs a number of American citizens while he himself remains undocumented. A critic of the Iranian government, he fears for his safety if he is deported back to his native country.
DIANA, who, along with thousands of other Latino workers, helped rebuild the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. After completing her job, she and many others were detained and imprisoned for not having proper documentation.
LISO, a South African woman who was the victim of a bait-and-switch immigration scam. She was enticed to come to the U.S. as a religious missionary, but once here, her sponsors forced her into unpaid domestic labor.
About the Editor & Foreword Author:
Peter Orner is the author of two novels (Love and Shame and Love and The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo), two short story collections (Esther Stories and Last Car Over the Sagamore Bridge), and editor of two books of non-fiction/oral history (Underground America and Hope Deferred). He is co-host of a radio program on KWMR/ Point Reyes, CA called Casual Footsteps with John McCrea and co-owner of a bookstore called the Book Exchange.
Luis Alberto Urrea is a prolific and acclaimed writer who uses his dual-culture life experiences to explore greater themes of love, loss and triumph. The critically acclaimed and best-selling author of 13 books, Urrea has won numerous awards for his poetry, fiction and essays. The Devil’s Highway, his 2004 non-fiction account of a group of Mexican immigrants lost in the Arizona desert, won the Lannan Literary Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the Pacific Rim Kiriyama Prize.
Praise for Underground America:
This book fills a gap in our understanding of the issue by humanizing the people at the center of an otherwise cold debate.
Chris Ying for the Huffington Post
No less than revelatory.
Publishers Weekly
The book gives a human face to the statistics we see on TV about immigration.
Susanna Zaraysky for New America Media
Related Resources
View the Lesson Plans
The lessons use oral history to promote a nuanced understanding of undocumented immigrants in the United States.
Book Club Discussion Questions
Use these questions to encourage meaningful discussions about the book.
Narrative Excerpts
In NPR, read two excerpts of oral histories from the book.Media Coverage
More from the Book Series
Unheard Voices of the Pandemic: Narratives From the First Year of COVID-19
How We Go Home: Voices From Indigenous North America
Solito, Solita: Crossing Borders with Youth Refugees From Central America
Chasing the Harvest: Migrant Workers in California Agriculture
