Colleen Bradford Krantz's Blog, page 3
June 5, 2011
The Immigration Agent
I met the recently-retired immigration agent when I was researching my new book, “Train to Nowhere; Inside an Immigrant Death Investigation.” He had previously lived in Omaha, Neb., where he had overseen investigations for what was then the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Years earlier, he had started his law enforcement career with the Border Patrol. He was based in Arizona then, looking for those trying to come into the United States without permission. He told me he loved the challenge of tracking undocumented immigrants through the desert – not so much the capturing, but the art of looking for clues in the terrain. It was the job he had most enjoyed during his more than 25 years in immigration work. During that time, he returned hundreds – probably thousands – of people to their home countries.
You may have guessed this man is Caucasian – a white guy desensitized to the plight of those from somewhere south of our southern border. He’s not.
He’s Mexican-American, and the son of a migrant farm worker. And because of his skin color, his ability to speak Spanish and his heritage, he has frequently had to prove himself on the job. He had to prove himself to both his peers and to those he arrested, who would sometimes declare: “But you’re one of us!”
His story is one reason that I think makes my book different from others that may, at first glance, seem to be similar “immigrant tragedy” stories.
The reality is that such stories frequently focus largely on the victims, with, at best, only superficial introductions to others involved in similar tragedies. The story I tell – beginning with the discovery in Iowa of eleven bodies inside a railcar – offers readers the chance to not only understand one Guatemala farm boy who suffered the most damning of consequences when he made the decision to leave home, but also the chance to know other Latinos who had some role in the case. And they aren’t always as simple as most Americans want to make them.
Imagine being a Mexican-American immigration supervisor who makes a career of arresting those from his grandparents’ homeland and other countries. Imagine trying to convince others that this isn’t so different from an African American police office arresting other African Americans.
Or imagine being a big brother, who struggles with the anger toward the smugglers who locked the railcar carrying your younger brother and ten others. But imagine also feeling a hint of guilt, realizing that your own success in the United States may have been one of the biggest factors in the boy’s decision to leave the security and relative stability of home – even if you were the one who provided that stability.
Imagine being the Hispanic conductor who made money selling train schedules to smugglers so they could more easily slip undocumented immigrants into railcars. Imagine later realizing that the outside world sees you in the same way they see the smugglers who locked the railcar from the outside and later lost track of the train: as a murderer. Imagine deciding you had to tell your story to an author in hopes that your son would one day understand.
Upon finishing the book and companion documentary of the same name, (both on Amazon) it struck me that the story was told almost entirely by Latinos. They filled almost every key role in this nonfiction story. Immigration is so often seen as a Latino issue, but it’s told through the same eyes – those struggling to escape hardships back home and those of lawmakers (usually white) – but we miss other Latino viewpoints. We try to oversimplify the issue. If “Train to Nowhere” illustrates anything, it is that the immigration issue is far from simple.
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Colleen Bradford Krantz’s book, “Train to Nowhere; Inside an Immigrant Death Investigation,” is being released this month. This is Day 6 of her week-long “blog tour.” Two of her books are being given away here on Goodreads. Also, “like” and comment by June 20 on the book/film Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Train-T... - to be eligible to win one of two other copies being given away. The book can also be purchased at www.IceCubePress.com or on Amazon. Learn more at www.ColleenBradfordKrantz.com or follow Colleen on Twitter @bradfordkrantz
Years earlier, he had started his law enforcement career with the Border Patrol. He was based in Arizona then, looking for those trying to come into the United States without permission. He told me he loved the challenge of tracking undocumented immigrants through the desert – not so much the capturing, but the art of looking for clues in the terrain. It was the job he had most enjoyed during his more than 25 years in immigration work. During that time, he returned hundreds – probably thousands – of people to their home countries.
You may have guessed this man is Caucasian – a white guy desensitized to the plight of those from somewhere south of our southern border. He’s not.
He’s Mexican-American, and the son of a migrant farm worker. And because of his skin color, his ability to speak Spanish and his heritage, he has frequently had to prove himself on the job. He had to prove himself to both his peers and to those he arrested, who would sometimes declare: “But you’re one of us!”
His story is one reason that I think makes my book different from others that may, at first glance, seem to be similar “immigrant tragedy” stories.
The reality is that such stories frequently focus largely on the victims, with, at best, only superficial introductions to others involved in similar tragedies. The story I tell – beginning with the discovery in Iowa of eleven bodies inside a railcar – offers readers the chance to not only understand one Guatemala farm boy who suffered the most damning of consequences when he made the decision to leave home, but also the chance to know other Latinos who had some role in the case. And they aren’t always as simple as most Americans want to make them.
Imagine being a Mexican-American immigration supervisor who makes a career of arresting those from his grandparents’ homeland and other countries. Imagine trying to convince others that this isn’t so different from an African American police office arresting other African Americans.
Or imagine being a big brother, who struggles with the anger toward the smugglers who locked the railcar carrying your younger brother and ten others. But imagine also feeling a hint of guilt, realizing that your own success in the United States may have been one of the biggest factors in the boy’s decision to leave the security and relative stability of home – even if you were the one who provided that stability.
Imagine being the Hispanic conductor who made money selling train schedules to smugglers so they could more easily slip undocumented immigrants into railcars. Imagine later realizing that the outside world sees you in the same way they see the smugglers who locked the railcar from the outside and later lost track of the train: as a murderer. Imagine deciding you had to tell your story to an author in hopes that your son would one day understand.
Upon finishing the book and companion documentary of the same name, (both on Amazon) it struck me that the story was told almost entirely by Latinos. They filled almost every key role in this nonfiction story. Immigration is so often seen as a Latino issue, but it’s told through the same eyes – those struggling to escape hardships back home and those of lawmakers (usually white) – but we miss other Latino viewpoints. We try to oversimplify the issue. If “Train to Nowhere” illustrates anything, it is that the immigration issue is far from simple.
-----
Colleen Bradford Krantz’s book, “Train to Nowhere; Inside an Immigrant Death Investigation,” is being released this month. This is Day 6 of her week-long “blog tour.” Two of her books are being given away here on Goodreads. Also, “like” and comment by June 20 on the book/film Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Train-T... - to be eligible to win one of two other copies being given away. The book can also be purchased at www.IceCubePress.com or on Amazon. Learn more at www.ColleenBradfordKrantz.com or follow Colleen on Twitter @bradfordkrantz
May 31, 2011
Blog Tour Week
My about-to-be-released book, "Train to Nowhere; Inside an Immigrant Death Investigation," will begin its blog tour tomorrow. Check out the following sites over the next week:
1) Today: A review at Bender's Immigration Bulletin - http://tinyurl.com/3mvfra2
2) June 1: A review at www.sophisticateddorkiness.com
3) June 2: A guest posting at http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immi...
4) June 3: An author Q&A at http://booksbooksthemagicalfruit.blog...
5) June 4: A radio interview on Writers' Voices: http://www.kruufm.com/station/archive...
6) June 5: An entry here on my blog
7) June 6: A giveaway on the "Train to Nowhere" Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Train-T...
The book is available at www.IceCubePress.com or on Amazon.
1) Today: A review at Bender's Immigration Bulletin - http://tinyurl.com/3mvfra2
2) June 1: A review at www.sophisticateddorkiness.com
3) June 2: A guest posting at http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immi...
4) June 3: An author Q&A at http://booksbooksthemagicalfruit.blog...
5) June 4: A radio interview on Writers' Voices: http://www.kruufm.com/station/archive...
6) June 5: An entry here on my blog
7) June 6: A giveaway on the "Train to Nowhere" Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Train-T...
The book is available at www.IceCubePress.com or on Amazon.
May 24, 2011
Journalist to Author
I'm a rookie author. But not a rookie journalist. I spent many years as a newspaper reporter, running out to crime scenes, covering murder trials, or listening to debates at city council meetings. Back then, everything I reported was moved into the "system" quickly. Usually, it was in the newspaper by the next day. At the most, I might get a few months (while doing other reporting) to work on a really big project. So it was new experience for me to spend six months writing my book, "Train to Nowhere; Inside an Immigrant Death Investigation." I spent several years prior to that doing the research, chiseling away a little at a time while caring for a newborn and toddler. I had once been warned by an author friend that you must choose your book topic carefully: you live with it for a long time - you better love it. In my case, the story I found kept my attention through what was literally years of work. I still think about those eleven Mexicans and Central Americans who died inside the railcar, the immigration agent involved in the criminal case, and the mourning older brother who struggles with anger and guilt. I hope the next topic I choose will keep me equally engaged through the long process of bringing a book to the world.
