Looking Deportation in the Face

The Fence Between Tijuana and San Diego Reminded Childhood Arrivals of Their Exile—Until They Used It to Share Their Stories

The archive, it keeps growing. Another story. This time, Jorge. Yesterday it was Angel, the day before that, Ruben, Andy, Hector, Alex.

I first met Jorge in June 2017, at a Father’s Day celebration at Friendship Park in Playas de Tijuana. We were steps away from the border fence separating Mexico and San Diego’s Border Field State Park. Jorge, who was one of the only young folks there that day, and he reminded me of my younger brother Jose, and my friends back in Compton. Jorge, who was 26 years …

by Lizbeth De La Cruz Santana | May 12, 2022

Black and white photo of Arnold Schoenberg conducting during a rehearsal with the LA Philharmonic Orchestra in 1935.

The Exiled Musicians Who Escaped Fascism for La La Land

‘An Aggrieved, Talented, Witty, and Competitive Bunch’ of Artists Made Music in Hollywood’s Heyday

by Alexis Landau | April 27, 2022

Generations ago, in the parenthesis of years between Hitler’s 1933 rise to power and the end of World War II, a deluge of European artists and intellectuals came to the …

To Solve America’s Immigration Woes, We Need to Think, Act, and Work Locally

Individuals and Communities Are Able to Connect with Newcomers Even as Policymakers Work to Drive Us Apart

by Sarah Rothbard | March 25, 2022

The Zócalo event “Could Immigration Unite Americans?” comes at a time when much of the world has actually come together in support of one group of immigrants. But, as New …

How Does Culture Immigrate?

Artists and Scholars Explore the Ways Their Work Helps Them Understand Homeland

by Talib Jabbar | March 17, 2022

Home can be physical or imagined—a point of departure and return but also a memory or feeling. When migrants and immigrants move across borders, they bring along the places they …

We’re Telling the Wrong Border Stories

If We Want to Stop Fighting About Immigration, We Need New Narratives That Balance Security and Compassion

by Ali Noorani | March 3, 2022

Borders are meant to create order and security. But around the world, authoritarians seeking to enhance their power are pushing dangerous border narratives to sow chaos and exploit insecurity. Democratic societies …

What Does the U.S. Owe Climate Refugees?

Central Americans Are Fleeing an Ecological Disaster They Didn't Cause

by Michael B. Smith | October 11, 2021

Last fall, back-to-back major hurricanes, Eta and Iota, slammed into the Caribbean coast of Central America, creating storm surges and flooding from Belize to Panama. In parts of Honduras and …

immigration