Last year, from June 10 to Thanksgiving, 2024, I criss-crossed the United States, engaging with faith- and community-based organizations as well as learning groups of all ages and stages on the central topic of my book:
How our “broken” US immigration system works just fine for the demagogues and profiteers of the Border Industrial Complex that benefit from it, which is why we’ve achieved no human-centered reform to the system in four decades.
For seven months, I traveled from sea to shining sea, raising awareness about the deathly deterrence-to-detention-to-deportation pipeline: an infrastructure of destruction and an instrument of oppression, hiding in plain sight all around us, that
has been used by administrations on both sides of the political aisle against the most vulnerable among us;
could be used against all of us, and was during the Black Lives Matter protests of the summer of 2020 by Trump 1.0; and, I warned,
would be used “on day one” from a second Trump administration in a way that would challenge both our values and our self-understanding, if the monsters gained access to the White House once more.
As I traversed the country, a powerful presentation model quickly emerged — one that I recommend to all those now seeking to thwart the regime’s use of the cruel and unrelenting machine:
Wherever I spoke, I endeavored to include on stage with me local grassroots warriors of welcome who’ve been tirelessly working on behalf of Just Migration for years.
My thinking was this…
Though Crossing the Line: Finding America in the Borderlands is being read and studied by more and more Book Clubs and Social Justice Groups nationwide, for which I am grateful, I was just passing through. If, however, after introducing my book, offering my rallying cry, and calling audience members to action, I could then pass the mic to the area leadership to share all the ways folks might get involved right outside their front doors, that would enable a more sustainable effort to pierce the pro-immigration echo chamber and bring more people into the movement for Just Migration.
So, when Gina Muscatel and Peyton Trilling approached me about flying to Los Angeles to speak to members of the Civic Engagement Program at Peyton’s school, I shared this model with them. The result was a sight to behold!
Gina, the founder of her local Indivisible chapter and co-facilitator of the Malibu Democratic Club, invited the participation of one local leader, who engaged the commitment of another, until the event included additional learning communities, detention watch groups, and farmworker advocacy networks, in addition to area Democratic Clubs and Indivisible chapters. Coordination grew, too, taking this idea of combining awareness-building with local leadership engagement and resource sharing to new heights, even as the march of the MAGA regime to squash dissent and frighten immigrant rights activists into silence came to LA with my arrival.
Agoura Hills High School got cold feet, canceling the event while I was in the air. But Peyton would not be thwarted. She and her family found another venue. And the event swiftly transformed into a broad-based community Teach-In.
It was an honor to be invited to keynote what turned into a model event for communities across the nation to emulate. So, as a way to give thanks to Gina, Peyton, and all the Crossing Lines event facilitators and participants, as well as to further spread their love, I am making this offer to groups like them, wishing to raise awareness and grow the movement for Just Migration in their local area:
Call your members to action!
Share with them my keynote address by tapping the play button on the link above.Create a Book Club or Study Group, using Crossing the Line.
And obtain books at a generous discounted rate on purchases made by the box.Zoom me in for group discussions, at no additional cost.
Contact me directly for details on any or all of the above. Meantime, enjoy Part I of Crossing Lines: Cruelty, Compassion, & the Real Border Crisis. Part II to follow.
Don’t forget my workshop with Dora Rodriguez this Sunday, April 27, 2:30-4 pm ET: Changing the Paradigm: Finding the Words to Fight Back.
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