Somewhere We Are Human

By: Reyna Grande and Sonia Guiñansaca

In the overheated debate about immigration, we often lose sight of the humanity at the heart of this complex issue. The immigrants and refugees living precariously in the United States are mothers and fathers, children, neighbors, and friends. Individuals propelled by hope and fear, they gamble their lives on the promise of America, yet their voices are rarely heard.

Created entirely by undocumented or formerly undocumented migrants, Somewhere We Are Human is a journey of memory and yearning from people newly arrived in the US, those who have been here for decades, and those who have ultimately chosen to leave or were deported. Through their storytelling and art, the contributors offer nuanced portraits of their existence before and after migration, the factors behind their choices, the pain of leaving their homeland and beginning anew in a strange country, and their collective hunger for a future not defined by borders.

Somewhere We Are Human reveals how joy, hope, perseverance, and dreams can take root in the toughest soil and bloom in the harshest conditions.