To Sin Against Hope: How America Has Failed Its Immigrants: A Personal History

by Alfredo Gutierrez

Alfredo Gutierrez’s father, a US citizen, was deported to Mexico from his Arizona hometown—the mining town where Alfredo grew up. This occurred during a wave of anti-immigrant hysteria stoked by the Great Depression, but as Gutierrez makes clear, in a book that is both a personal chronicle and a thought-provoking history, the war on Mexican immigrants has rarely abated. Barack Obama now presides over an immigration policy every inch the equal of Herbert Hoover’s in its harshness.

His family experiences inspired Gutierrez to pursue the life of a Chicano activist. Kicked out of Arizona State University after leading a takeover of the president’s office, he later became the majority leader of the Arizona State Senate. Later still, he was a successful political consultant. He remains an activist, and in this engrossing memoir and essay, he dissects the racism that has deformed a century of border policy—leading to a record number of deportations during the Obama presidency—and he analyzes the timidity of today’s immigrant advocacy organizations. To Sin Against Hope brings to light the problems that have prevented the US from honoring the contributions and aspirations of its immigrants. It is a call to remember history and act for the future.

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 9, 2012

Reviews

[Rohit · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping and powerful book about the US-Mexico borderlands, that is part history book of Mexican-American, part memoir of an Arizona activist-politician, and part polemic against the US's broken and cruel immigration system. The weaving together of these three aspects isn't done particularly gracefully and even seems somewhat random and haphazard at times -- but somehow, it not only works, but elevates the book in terms of how it presents both a sweeping and personal survey of the American south-west and the politics of Mexican America and immigration. There is a lot in this book, but perhaps the most interesting and cutting thread was the long history of struggle around America's repressive and racialized immigration policy; especially interesting was the descriptions of leftist union organizers in the south-west mines helping organize against deportations of Mexicans during the 1950s.

Overall a very educational, colorful, and emotional look at the history and politics of Mexican-America and immigration politics through the eyes of an experienced and thoughtful politician.

[Tess · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Walk Through My History

Much of what is in this book was discussed in my family, who were also miners in the Miami area. It is despite much injustice that we (Mexicans and mestizos) succeed and push forward. I applaud Alfredo Gutierrez for telling our story simply and truthfully.

[Jason von Meding · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gave me a much more comprehensive idea of the historical context in which we need to see the current border politics. Interestingly for me, Gutierrez demonstrates that Democratic administrations and politicians generally, which abstaining from some of the racist rhetoric of the GOP, have endlessly persecuted immigrants for their own ends.

[Christa · Rating 2 out of 5]

In some ways, I really enjoyed reading this, because it deals with both immigration as a topic itself and immigration legislation, which I find fascinating and frustrating. Gutierrez is an influential figure in SW politics and it was interesting to read from his point of view. The frustrating parts of the work dealt with the awkward ties between Gutierrez's personal narrative and his work/ political narrative. Time frames weren't always very linear feeling and sometimes the personal stories felt like afterthoughts that were added later. It was a pretty quick read and it did provide a good overview of some policies that are still affecting immigration in the States today.