Rivermouth: A Chronicle of Language, Faith, and Migration

by Alejandra Oliva

Like every other part of our immigration system, this process is designed to keep people uncertain, on their toes, prepared for the unexpected to rear its head at highly charged moments. This opaqueness also means that when something bad happens—when someone is extorted for a better place on the list, or when someone is frustrated because they haven’t been able to cross, or when someone dies while waiting for their number to be called—the fault has to be peeled back, layer by layer, before getting to the actual culprits, insulating the United States government from blame.