Unsung America: Immigrant Trailblazers and Our Fight for Freedom

by Prerna Lal, Allegra McLeod (Foreword)

Discover both triumphant and painful real life tales of immigrants who blazed trails and broke barriers in the fight for fundamental human rights. Positive and heroic stories. Far too often, immigrants are demonized and scapegoated, when they should be celebrated as heroes and revolutionaries. Unsung heroes. Learn about the trials and triumphs of ordinary people fighting for citizenship as immigrants in a new land. Each uses different strategies and tactics; what works for one does not work for another. They all have one thing in common, however—a desire for racial and social justice. Unsung America  may change the way you view immigrants and refugees.  Prerna Lal, who penned  Unsung America , is a naturalized United States citizen, born and raised in the Fiji Islands with roots in the San Francisco Bay Area. A clinical law professor, Lal is a frequent writer on immigration, racial justice, sexual orientation, and how these forces intersect. She is a graduate of The George Washington University Law School, and works as an immigration attorney. In this celebratory book discover: If you liked  The Book of Awesome Women  by Becca Anderson,  Dear America by Jose Antonio Vargas, or  American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures  by America Ferrara, you’ll love  Unsung America .

Genres: Nonfiction

318 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 2019

About the author

Prerna Lal was born in the Fiji Islands, came to the U.S. with their parents when they were 14, and grew up in the East Bay, California.

Formerly an undocumented immigrant, Lal was integral in the establishment of advocacy networks led by undocumented youth, which mobilized thousands of undocumented immigrants into pushing for the federal DREAM Act in 2010, ending the deportations of undocumented youth, and winning the now popular Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program from the Obama Administration. A social media strategist and content creator, Lal also helped with the creation of many local immigrant youth groups, providing direct support, mentorship and advocacy to individuals caught up in the immigration dragnet.

As an undocumented law school graduate, Lal was among the first in the country to obtain a license to practice law. Their high-spirited activism also made them a target of the U.S. government who sought to deport her (2010-2014), but Lal won lawful permanent residency after a long court battle. In April 2018, Lal became a United States citizen.

As a non-profit policy attorney in Washington D.C., Attorney Lal worked at Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC to craft federal policies such as extended DACA, DAPA, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Nepal and parole-in-place for the family members of Filipino war veterans (all of which are now under attack by the Trump Administration). Most recently, Attorney Lal served as the sole immigration counsel for over 500 students and their family members at the University of California, Berkeley, single-handedly creating and sustaining the first school-based legal services program in the United States. At the East Bay Community Law Center and UC Berkeley School of Law, Lal taught at the immigration law clinic and mentored a new generation of public-interest law students.

Lal has previously contributed to books such as Undocumented and Unafraid: Tam Tran, Cinthya Felix and the Immigrant Youth, and The Country I Call Home. Lal has also penned articles for The New York Times, HuffPost, TruthOut, New America Media, In These Times, and has been quoted in hundreds of news outlets in the United States and abroad.

Prerna Lal now owns and manages their own law firm, Lal Legal, where they continue to serve immigrants and shape immigration advocacy.

Reviews

[SJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book filled with powerful stories of resistance against the history of anti-immigrant sentiment in US history/government - it covers racist, homophobic, transphobic history that is not well covered in history books or immigrant law classes. This is a MUST read for anyone interested in immigrant rights and a powerful reminder that we must keep fighting and never give up. The work of those who have come before us and sacrificed so much must be continued

[Josh Petro · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eye opening look into how America's immigration policies have been vehicles of hate, of racism, and have a long way to go.

[Allie]

This book compiles a broad and cohesive look into immigration issues in the US. It provides a very intersectional account of the battles and cruelties faced by immigrants throughout our history that shape and define those of the present. I love its approach of telling not only the details of the policies, but also the stories of the trailblazers who were harmed (or are being harmed) by them, and fought (or fighting) against them to change them. Through reading it, I have learned about many lesser known present-day activists and smaller organizations to support. The book is going on my re-read list.

A few quotes:

“Beyond the borders of the United States, too, Lal’s protagonists expose how the imperial quest for exploited labor, land, and political control has wrought immiseration and instability around the world while precipitating new waves of migration to this country. In other words, the most egregious violence, degradation, and hypocrisy involved in contemporary immigration enforcement have long been in practice here—this brutality is not a rare deviation but a defining characteristic of this country’s history and its persistent legacies.”—From the foreword “The Dream the Dreamers Dreamed” by Allegra M. McLeod

“The trailblazers in this book are unsung and have been ignored in favor of a narrative that either portrays immigrants as heroes or as villains.”

“Perhaps it is time to question the concept of citizenship and why it should be the arbiter of rights. Human rights should not be so arbitrary that they cease to exist simply because one crosses a geopolitical border in search for freedom or opportunity.”

“No matter who is in power, we need to shift away from purely electoral politics to mobilize and protect our communities. For far too long, migrants have been used as a political football to elect politicians who simply perpetuate the issues that lead to migration in the first place. Therefore, support for politicians should be the least of our concerns as a community. We need to engage all people who are left behind by the political establishment. Our strength as a community lies in our values. And our values should be defined not by those who want to take America back to the dark ages, but by those who want it open to all.”

[Marcela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Different than I was expecting. I thought it would be an anthology but it was a mix of historical and contemporary profiles of immigrants, with a lot of focus on activism and LGBT issues. Would probably give it 3.5 stars.