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America Is Better Than This: Trump's War Against Migrant Families
An exposé and cry of outrage at the cruelty and chaos the Trump administration has wrought at the border with child separations, border blockades, and a massive gulag of child prisons housing thousands.
Jeff Merkley couldn't believe his eyes. He never dreamed the United States could treat vulnerable young families with such calculated brutality. Few had witnessed what Merkley discovered just by showing up at the border and demanding to see what was going on behind closed doors.
Contrary to the official stories and soothing videos, he found mothers and children, newborn babies and infants, stranded for days on border bridges in blistering heat or locked up in ice-cold holding pens. There were nearly 1,500 boys jammed into a former Walmart, a child tent prison in the desert with almost 3,000 boys and girls, and children struggling to survive in gang-filled Mexican border towns after they were blocked from seeking asylum in the United States.
Worst of all, there were the children ripped out of their parents' arms and sorted into cages in some profoundly warped attempt to discourage migration.
This was how the Trump administration treated the child victims of unspeakable violence that had driven them from their homes: as pawns in a power play rather than as humans worthy of respect and dignity.
It was Merkley's visits -- captured live on viral video -- that triggered worldwide outrage at the forced separation of children from their parents. Just by taking an interest -- by caring about the people legally claiming asylum at America's borders -- Merkley helped expose the Trump administration's war on migrant families. Along the way, he helped turn the tide against some of its worst excesses.
AMERICA IS BETTER THAN THIS tells the inside story of how one senator, with no background as an immigration activist, became a leading advocate for reform of the brutal policies that have created a humanitarian crisis on the southern U.S. border. It represents the heartfelt and candid voice of a concerned American who believes his country stands for something far bigger and better.
Jeff Merkley couldn't believe his eyes. He never dreamed the United States could treat vulnerable young families with such calculated brutality. Few had witnessed what Merkley discovered just by showing up at the border and demanding to see what was going on behind closed doors.
Contrary to the official stories and soothing videos, he found mothers and children, newborn babies and infants, stranded for days on border bridges in blistering heat or locked up in ice-cold holding pens. There were nearly 1,500 boys jammed into a former Walmart, a child tent prison in the desert with almost 3,000 boys and girls, and children struggling to survive in gang-filled Mexican border towns after they were blocked from seeking asylum in the United States.
Worst of all, there were the children ripped out of their parents' arms and sorted into cages in some profoundly warped attempt to discourage migration.
This was how the Trump administration treated the child victims of unspeakable violence that had driven them from their homes: as pawns in a power play rather than as humans worthy of respect and dignity.
It was Merkley's visits -- captured live on viral video -- that triggered worldwide outrage at the forced separation of children from their parents. Just by taking an interest -- by caring about the people legally claiming asylum at America's borders -- Merkley helped expose the Trump administration's war on migrant families. Along the way, he helped turn the tide against some of its worst excesses.
AMERICA IS BETTER THAN THIS tells the inside story of how one senator, with no background as an immigration activist, became a leading advocate for reform of the brutal policies that have created a humanitarian crisis on the southern U.S. border. It represents the heartfelt and candid voice of a concerned American who believes his country stands for something far bigger and better.
224 pages, Hardcover
Published August 20, 2019
12 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Merkley
4 books9 followersJeff Merkley is a senator from Oregon, serving in the US Senate since 2009.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 26, 2019
I was very curious about this, particularly as I live in Oregon and absolutely think the current policies are wrong. Unfortunately, the first 1/3 of this book - though it has good information - seems a bit simplistic and repetitive in its writing. The second 1/3 was a brief look at Merkley's life and what brought him to the place he is, as one of those in Congress who have been very outspoken regarding the current administration's policies. The last 1/3, one of the best, actually discusses with a bit more detail the day-to-day realities of so many of those trying simply to make a better life for themselves. I think, had the first 1/3 of the book been written as the last 1/3 was, with more focus on the people themselves, the whole book would have been made better. The point is excellent. The ideas suggested are great. The fact that someone is speaking out is important. However, I'm not sure how many people will continue past that beginning.
August 15, 2019
Jeff Merkley has witnessed some awful scenes at the border.
People “stuffed inside what looked like dog kennels.” Children “torn out of their parents’ arms.”
The conclusion Oregon’s junior senator draws from this: “America is better than this.”
He uses that phrase to close the prologue of his new book about President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. It’s also how he ends the book itself. Indeed, the phrase serves as the tome’s title.
It’s a hopeful viewpoint. And naïve.
Almost three years after the 2016 election, no one can have any doubt about the kind of man Donald Trump is or what’s important to him. And polls consistently show that more than 40 percent of American adults are happy with his performance as America’s top elected official.
In this short book -- the subtitle is “Trump’s War Against Migrant Families” -- Merkley tries to illustrate the dark meaning of the president’s nationalism by telling the story of Albertina Contreras, who fled violence in Guatemala with her 11-year-old daughter Yaquelin and sought asylum in the U.S. After a staggering series of traumas, they made it across the border and presented themselves to American authorities. Needless to say, it didn’t go well.
“We did the interview and one of the men told me we’re going to be separated and that I was going to prison to pay for the crime of coming here,” Albertina says in the book. The immigration officers shackled her and took her away, leaving her daughter behind.
What Albertina and Yaquelin have been through makes for a powerful story, as do the stories of so many other immigrants trying to escape terrible conditions. Still, it’s not clear why Merkley has written “America is Better Than This.”
He provides little that hasn’t already been reported by a multitude of news outlets. His volume offers no surprises or insight for anyone who’s been paying attention the past few years. (And what are the chances that someone who hasn’t been paying attention will fork over $27 for this book?)
The senator tells us he’s looking for solutions. He rolls through some possible policy initiatives, but he doesn’t really try that hard. “Let’s bring in all the experts in the region and test out the most promising ideas,” he writes. What Merkley really wants, it seems clear, is for “America is Better Than This” to be a wake-up call.
Is that realistic?
Any student of history could tell you that Trump’s “war against migrant families” and the Trump presidency itself could be quickly ended. All Americans have to do is collectively decide to end them. Sustained protests at the border, with tens of thousands of Americans daisy-chaining themselves around detention centers, would shut down those makeshift prisons. Want to go after bigger fish? Huge protests like the ones going on in Hong Kong, if they took place for weeks on end in Washington, D.C., would drive Trump from office. It wouldn’t take long for Republicans in Congress to abandon him, making his continued tenure untenable.
The United States is a country of more than 325 million people. No government can control us unless we agree to be controlled.
Which brings us back to an inconvenient truth that Merkley doesn’t address in “America is Better Than This,” because he doesn’t know how to.
A lot of Americans agree with Donald Trump -- about immigration, about political correctness, about race, about trade wars, about the press, about public spectacle. And most of the Americans who don’t agree with him have other priorities. They’re busy with their careers and raising their children and pursuing their hobbies. They don’t have time to bring down a president, no matter how noxious they may find him.
Millions of people turned out for the Women’s March on Washington the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2017. Remember that? Then, after a day of celebratory protest, all those citizens opposed to the new president returned home and went back to their daily lives.
No, America isn’t better than this -- any of this. America is this.
People “stuffed inside what looked like dog kennels.” Children “torn out of their parents’ arms.”
The conclusion Oregon’s junior senator draws from this: “America is better than this.”
He uses that phrase to close the prologue of his new book about President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. It’s also how he ends the book itself. Indeed, the phrase serves as the tome’s title.
It’s a hopeful viewpoint. And naïve.
Almost three years after the 2016 election, no one can have any doubt about the kind of man Donald Trump is or what’s important to him. And polls consistently show that more than 40 percent of American adults are happy with his performance as America’s top elected official.
In this short book -- the subtitle is “Trump’s War Against Migrant Families” -- Merkley tries to illustrate the dark meaning of the president’s nationalism by telling the story of Albertina Contreras, who fled violence in Guatemala with her 11-year-old daughter Yaquelin and sought asylum in the U.S. After a staggering series of traumas, they made it across the border and presented themselves to American authorities. Needless to say, it didn’t go well.
“We did the interview and one of the men told me we’re going to be separated and that I was going to prison to pay for the crime of coming here,” Albertina says in the book. The immigration officers shackled her and took her away, leaving her daughter behind.
What Albertina and Yaquelin have been through makes for a powerful story, as do the stories of so many other immigrants trying to escape terrible conditions. Still, it’s not clear why Merkley has written “America is Better Than This.”
He provides little that hasn’t already been reported by a multitude of news outlets. His volume offers no surprises or insight for anyone who’s been paying attention the past few years. (And what are the chances that someone who hasn’t been paying attention will fork over $27 for this book?)
The senator tells us he’s looking for solutions. He rolls through some possible policy initiatives, but he doesn’t really try that hard. “Let’s bring in all the experts in the region and test out the most promising ideas,” he writes. What Merkley really wants, it seems clear, is for “America is Better Than This” to be a wake-up call.
Is that realistic?
Any student of history could tell you that Trump’s “war against migrant families” and the Trump presidency itself could be quickly ended. All Americans have to do is collectively decide to end them. Sustained protests at the border, with tens of thousands of Americans daisy-chaining themselves around detention centers, would shut down those makeshift prisons. Want to go after bigger fish? Huge protests like the ones going on in Hong Kong, if they took place for weeks on end in Washington, D.C., would drive Trump from office. It wouldn’t take long for Republicans in Congress to abandon him, making his continued tenure untenable.
The United States is a country of more than 325 million people. No government can control us unless we agree to be controlled.
Which brings us back to an inconvenient truth that Merkley doesn’t address in “America is Better Than This,” because he doesn’t know how to.
A lot of Americans agree with Donald Trump -- about immigration, about political correctness, about race, about trade wars, about the press, about public spectacle. And most of the Americans who don’t agree with him have other priorities. They’re busy with their careers and raising their children and pursuing their hobbies. They don’t have time to bring down a president, no matter how noxious they may find him.
Millions of people turned out for the Women’s March on Washington the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2017. Remember that? Then, after a day of celebratory protest, all those citizens opposed to the new president returned home and went back to their daily lives.
No, America isn’t better than this -- any of this. America is this.
December 28, 2024
A bracing accounting of the Trump immigration policy, written by the progressive United States Senator from Oregon
March 5, 2020
This short book covers a lot of territory in a clear and engaging writing that challenges us to understand the issues of immigration. Author and Senator Jeff Merkley (OR) writes in a clear and engaging way to tell us what is happening on the US/Mexico borders.
He writes well and powerful. He begins with the Statue of Liberty and then goes into a lesson about ethics (without using that word). He links the data about immigration with the ethical responsibilities we have as a powerful (and open) country.
Some of the middle chapters take us to how the terrible experiences of immigrants who want to come to the US. He forcefully attacks what Trump claims about the numbers of the value of the immigrants for our country. Merkley uses his language to make powerful statements such as “Zero Toleration is zero Humanity,” p. 59.
He’s already got the theme for a campaign beyond the Senate: “Relight Liberty’s Torch.”
At the same time, his book gives hope to those who want to have a better country.
September 9, 2019
Jeff Merkley has written a narrative of deception and despair. The desperate people arriving at our southern border have been treated with indifference and cruelty by the border guards who are acting on orders from the Trump administration. The only trip made by someone who might have been able to give a firsthand report was Melania Trump who famously wore her “I really don’t care, do you?” jacket. But Merkley has interviewed a lot of people who do care as well as asylum seekers themselves. Everyone should read this book in order to understand programs that have been cancelled without public announcements as well as alternatives to the cruel separation of children from their parents. The complete indifference to the long term detrimental effects of the border fiasco by the Trump administration has to change.
October 16, 2019
Cogent and well-written, lays out things you already know unless you're living under a rock or are some kind of 'camp-denyer' person. Merkley's outrage comes across on the page, and the personal stories he intersperses bring home something news reporting just can't do. Worth a read, and worth a reminder.
December 17, 2019
A very quick read which compiles what we know is happening at the US/Mexico border, why it is happening and what can be done to improve the unbearable situation. It includes his personal accounts, visits and interactions which I found more helpful than the many separate news articles that cannot possibly go into this level of depth. Well done Senator, now lets fix this.
January 19, 2020
This was about what I expected. Merkley's first-hand account of conditions at the border, along with historical information and his take on how policies should be changed. This was a good refresher on our current immigration/asylum situation.
November 23, 2024
This was a fantastic book that was well written and explained so well the tragic experiences of those trying to find a better life in America with the challenges brought on by Trumps terrible immigration policies
Read
September 7, 2019Kudos to Merkley for confronting the ugliness of current events. Unfortunately, the book itself is repetitive and less informative and engaging than Merkley's speeches and q&as at town halls.
September 23, 2019
Thank you for shining light into the darkness.
September 24, 2019
Would have been better to read before knowing how it turns out. Horrifying what is Still going on at the border.
October 14, 2019
Spent too much time trying to make himself look good.
December 9, 2019
Senator Merkley, who visited the border to see what was happening as a result of the new policy of taking migrant children from their families, is the right person to tell this disturbing story. He documents, for example, some of the unsettling results of the policy. He argues that separating families is "not who we are as Americans". That is a view with which I agree.
August 23, 2019
Don't wait for the movie (which I hope someone will make. )
I followed the events described in the first section of this book closely on the news and still couldn't put it down. I paritcularily really enjoyed the biographical chapters which gave me more insight into Sen Merkley's humanitarian values and interest in this issue . His first hand experiences at the border and in Central America should be on the big screen .. The lack of hyperbole or partisanship, just honest outrage, made him a credible advocate for the needed reforms which he outlines..I think this book should be required reading before expressing an opinion on what's going on at our border. I withheld a star because I wish Sen. Merkley would have clarified the different issues as they relate to immigrants and asylum seekers as many people seem to lump everyone into Trump's " illegal aliens " boat.
I followed the events described in the first section of this book closely on the news and still couldn't put it down. I paritcularily really enjoyed the biographical chapters which gave me more insight into Sen Merkley's humanitarian values and interest in this issue . His first hand experiences at the border and in Central America should be on the big screen .. The lack of hyperbole or partisanship, just honest outrage, made him a credible advocate for the needed reforms which he outlines..I think this book should be required reading before expressing an opinion on what's going on at our border. I withheld a star because I wish Sen. Merkley would have clarified the different issues as they relate to immigrants and asylum seekers as many people seem to lump everyone into Trump's " illegal aliens " boat.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews