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Top of the pile
75
/100
I Index Overall Rating
Readers
68/100Critics
65/100Scholars
91/100Author:
Jacob Soboroff
Publisher:
Custom House/Harper Collins
Date:
July 7, 2020
An investigation of the human cost of the Trump administration's border and immigration policies by MSNBC correspondent Jacob Soboroff.
What The Reviewers Say
Separated...will give you a sense of how the United States, a country that prides itself on its constitutional protections, also possesses a body of immigration laws that can be weaponized by an executive branch willing to do it.
The book takes the form of a reporter’s memoir, and operates on one level as a chronicle of how 21st-century journalism works.
Soboroff zooms in on President Trump and his administration’s decision to separate children from their parents as a deterrent to border crossers. In doing so, he illuminates how, in the face of congressional inaction, a cadre of presidential advisers can introduce policies with shocking, unintended consequences.
The father of a young son, he disarmingly expresses his amazement at the lack of empathy shown by top officials in their zeal to deter immigrants and asylum-seekers. Ultimately, Soboroff focuses on the terrifying journey of a father and son fleeing violence in Guatemala, only to be separated and detained in freezing facilities akin to dog kennels. Each section begins with bureaucratic documents stating the grotesque and inane expectation that small children can wade through the complicated immigration process on their own. Supported by a time line and copious source notes, Soboroff’s thoroughly engaging exposé of the inner workings of a corrupt and unfeeling government is essential to understanding America’s current immigration misery..
