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Rating: 
Summary: A real eye-opener
Review: Daniel Groody is a Holy Cross priest -- the order that runs Notre Dame. Assigned to work with Mexican immigrants in Southern California, he learned first-hand the realities of border crossing. I was reminded of the old Willie Nelson song about a planeload of "deportees" that crashed with little concern from the authorities. Groody is not a sentimentalist and he tries to be even-handed. Although he registers appalling behavior on the part of the Border Patrol, he includes interviews with Border Patrol members in his research, and he acknowledges that there is a much larger picture: the relationship between the US and Mexico. Groody focuses on the way individuals experience immigration. As I noted in my own book, Making the Big Move, identity change creates the greatest stress in any relocation. Here Groody talks about the way immigrants from Mexico also experience spiritual hunger as they seek to be united with a new community. Perhaps the most vivid and memorable part of the book comes in the description of the four-day retreats, a program implemented by the clergy but designed by former participants who literally speak the language of the immigrants. It is especially moving to read of the reaction of the "candidates," the new immigrants, as they are greeted enthusiastically by the staff and are served meals by the staff. Staff members apply for coveted positions -- and they actually pay $75 a week to work in the program. Living eighty miles from the Mexican border, here in New Mexico, I've crossed checkpoints on the highways, often several hundred miles north of the border. Usually the guards just wave "Anglos" through and we rarely even stop. This book was a real eye-opener. At the end, I found myself wondering why we spend millions of dollars to keep out these people, instead of using the money to develop proactive programs here and in Mexico. Something is not working.
Rating:
Summary: A remarkable book about the human spirit and grace
Review: Daniel Groody saw first hand the continuing tragedy of illegal immigration and what happens to these people who risk their lives to find an opportunity to work. He describes a program in Southern California that treats the immigrants with respect and restores their dignity. The Church has its problems these days, but this is a story of the good that it fosters and a dramatic illustration of what religion can do in the lives of people. You will never look at the problem of immigration the same way again after reading this book.
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