No Option But North: The Migrant World and the Perilous Path Across the Border

by Kelsey Freeman

"At a time when anti-immigrant vitriol substitutes for US immigration policy, No Option But North deftly blends heartbreaking accounts of the journey north with cogent insights into the systemic causes that make the trek north an almost impossible option if you’re poor and from south of the border. Essential reading for anyone who cares about the human rights implications of US immigration politics." ― Antonio Villaraigosa , 41st Mayor of Los Angeles In the thick of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016, and through the travel bans his administration issued in 2017, journalist Kelsey Freeman spent nine months interviewing Central American and Mexican migrants in a shelter in central Mexico, along the migrant path. No Option But North interweaves their stories with research and anecdotes from Freeman’s experiences to reveal the fundamental moral quandaries involved in contemporary migration―from the expanding gang violence that drives migrants out of their home countries, to their dearth of legal options on both sides of the border, and more. In the process, Freeman takes us on a harrowing journey that strikes at the heart of the human ability to endure. A timely chronicle of contemporary migration from Central America and Mexico that peels back the layers of privilege underlying American and Mexican migration policies, No Option But North adds powerful color and force to the immigration narrative.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History

264 pages, Paperback

Published April 14, 2020

Reviews

[Petra Weiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. It is not easy capturing something so difficult in such a captivating and dumbed down version to where everyone can understand this dilemma that is being misrepresented all the time - and most people dismiss while sitting in their bubble of privilege and ignorance (and hatred).
To clarify, I say dumbed down in the best possible way, meaning that Kelsey breaks it down to where you can grasp the impossibility for Mexican and South American migrants to legally immigrate to the United States. Her writing voice is beautiful, straight forward, and factual. Her title is painfully true and she backs it up from page one. There is no future in staying. However, clearly, we (the US and other governments) also do not want migrants to have a future elsewhere. At least, not one worth living - as in freedom, financial stability, health, support, and opportunities.
Reading about the migrant stories/experiences - the author tried to remain objective on purpose. And sometimes I wanted more. However, I think if she had written on a deeper emotional level, nobody could have worked their way through what needed to be read to understand WHY this is happening. I do think about the people Kelsey interviewed and I wonder about their lives. I want to believe that some made it, but chances were never in their favor. You and I cannot ever imagine the horrors these migrants have experienced (and continue to experience).
Kelsey does an excellent job addressing all the hurdles: the cartels, the asylum system, the impossible path to legal immigration, the economic situation, the corruption, the policies, the politics, the education... The system is so broken on both continents (on purpose). This book affected me as an immigrant from a "not shit country," and I admit that I had no idea how complicated life becomes once you cross that southern border. And you have no idea how complicated life becomes for migrants once they cross the border north where they are never treated as equals, are viewed as unskilled and uneducated, and therefore are considered as a nuisance who take away "our" jobs (that in truth no one really would ever want to work). Sigh... we are such an ugly species in greed.
I highly recommend this book if you want to understand "HOW" the system does not work and how cruel we all are turning away from the suffering.
I would love to know that the author is okay emotionally and mentally after her experience that led to this awesome book. The weight of all of that combined with the helplessness while there would be heavy on anyone's shoulders.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This needs to be required reading, as it touches upon such crucial realities that are downplayed and misconstrued way too often. The fear rhetoric around migrants, imbued with false images of criminals taking advantage of the American system (when, in reality, it's the other way around) is brought to light in Kelsey Freeman's intelligent, yet accessible account. Interviewing real-life migrants--although "refugees" is a much more accurate term, as most, if not all, of the Central Americans she interviews are fleeing violence and corruption that make living life literally uninhabitable in their homes--she gives personalized narratives as well as well-researched backgrounds into policies and histories that paved the way for the current situation. She was a Fulbright scholar in Mexico around the time of the Trump election, and she listened to and curated accounts of many who risked kidnapping, rape, torture, and murder before even reaching the United States, where they had a clear idea of the additional suffering and oppression awaiting them there. This alone annihilates the argument that migrants should just "stay home," if the abovementioned horrors are somehow better options than staying--a "choice" not a single person would otherwise make. The book is kind, wholehearted, humane, granting dignity to Mexicans, Central Americans, her fellow estadounidenses. I cannot recommend it enough.

[Theresa Olander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kelsey Freeman does an amazing job of articulating the Migrant's reality in away that is interesting to read and easy to understand. She merges three interconnected avenues of information : the Political Policies of American, the real life stories of people she interviewed, and her own perceptions of how privilege plays a significant role. Information that guides the reader to understand why legal immigration that migrants truly desperately desire is actually unattainable. The book brings the whole reality of what and why the perilous journey even exists. No Option But North: The Migrant World and the Perilous Path Across the Border This is a must read for everyone as it educates us on such a critical reality immigrants are facing that we shouldn't ignore!

[Tess Freeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This insightful book combines the personal accounts of Central American migrants who embark on the journey north with an in-depth look at the United States' broken immigration system. The beautifully crafted personal accounts brought me to tears and the in-depth look at policy made me finally understand why the our immigration system is the way that it is. Unlike, American Dirt, Freeman explores her own privilege as a white female in Mexico in a way that highlights the systemic racism that has scarred the United States. This is a must read for anyone trying to understand immigration policy in the U.S. and the people who are most affected by it.

[Jessica Fagioli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freeman does a good job of outlining and detailing the North American immigration system - one that has purposefully become so confusing, backlogged, and cumbersome that those looking for a better, safer life have No Option But North.

Depending on how plugged in you are to immigration issues, some of the book is probably repeat information (I would say about half was for me), but it’s necessary to pain a full picture of why and how people and families from Central America make the choices they do.

[L.A. Heberlein]

In 2016 and 2017, Freeman was teaching English in a small city in Guanajuato. She also volunteered at a refugee aid center. This book is primarily the story of her conversations with Central Americans she met there on their journey towards the United States. You already know their stories in the aggregate, but it’s educational to meet individuals. And, as to the aggregate, there are contours I didn’t know. I didn’t know the cartels have taken to kidnapping migrants. Why migrants rather than rich businessmen? Migrants have so little! Yeah, but they’re so vulnerable.

[Bradley Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intimate insider view of the lives of immigrants in Mexico waiting along the way North and the dangers they face in search of a better life. Written by a young American woman seeing the workings of corruption, violence and economic hardship with young eyes and an open heart. It's a sad read, but also hopeful.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful blend of migrant stories, statistics and analysis, and Freeman's personal experience as a white woman listening to and learning from these stories.

[Brendan Artley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yep. Very good read.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the unimaginable, imagined. This is reality. What you hear and see from our politicians and the American news is not.

[Fiona · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insightful, lyrical, up-close look at the horrors and nuances of migration through Central America and Mexico at a time when the conversation around immigration has reached a dehumanizing fever pitch. Freeman brilliantly contextualizes migrants' individual experiences within the complicated world of multinational immigration policy, cartel violence, and corruption, while interweaving critical—and often under-discussed—reflections on power, privilege, and race as a white American woman.

The photos accompanying the stories also powerfully humanize the people Freeman interviews throughout the book—those who make the difficult decision to make the dangerous journey north in search of a better life.

[Jez · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the constant changes within immigration courts in the last couple of years, books on immigration are hyper-topical, and No Option But North is no exception. The book reviews the changes in law and its effects during Freeman’s nine-month Fulbright Fellowship in central Mexico at the height of Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016 through the travel bans issued in 2017.

While No Option But North chronicles a multitude of issues, at the expense of comprehensive explanations, it covers other topics that have been missed in books before it (e.g., kidnapping). Additionally, using both personal narrative and relayed stories (which are at times graphic), Freeman gives readers a glimpse of the hardships that Mexican and Central American [im]migrants face. Hopefully, a year after its release, [the United States has a new administration, and] immigrants are better situated in the U.S. and worldwide.

Note: I received an ARC via Edelweiss+