Search results for ""Author Ali Noorani""

In an era when immigration on a global scale defines the fears and aspirations of Americans, Restoring America’s Dignity presents the complexities of migration through the stories of families fleeing violence and poverty, the government and nongovernmental organizations helping or hindering their progress, and the American communities receiving them. Ali Noorani, who has spent years building bridges between immigrants and their often conservative communities, takes readers along to Honduras, Ciudad Juarez in Mexico, and Texas, meeting migrants and the organizations and people that help them on both sides of the border, reporting from the inside on why families make the heart-wrenching decision to leave home. Going beyond the polemical, partisan debate, Noorani offers sensitive insights and real solutions. Urgently needed, Restoring America’s Dignity will appeal to a broad audience of concerned citizens across the political spectrum, faith communities, policymakers, and immigrants themselves.

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A leading advocate for immigration reform interviews a wide range of citizens from communities throughout the nation to gauge the level of acceptance of new immigrants. This compelling approach to the immigration debate takes the reader behind the blaring headlines and into communities grappling with the reality of new immigrants and the changing nature of American identity. Ali Noorani, the Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, interviews nearly fifty local and national leaders from law enforcement, business, immigrant, and faith communities to illustrate the challenges and opportunities they face. From high school principals to church pastors to sheriffs, the author reveals that most people are working to advance society's interests, not exploiting a crisis at the expense of one community. As he shows, some cities and regions have reached a happy conclusion, while others struggle to find balance. Whether describing a pastor preaching to the need to welcome the stranger, a sheriff engaging the Muslim community, or a farmer's wind-whipped face moistened by tears as he tells the story of his farmworkers being deported, the author helps readers to realize that America's immigration debate isn't about policy; it is about the culture and values that make America what it is. The people on the front lines of America's cultural and demographic debate are Southern Baptist pastors in South Carolina, attorneys general in Utah or Indiana, Texas businessmen, and many more. Their combined voices make clear that all of them are working to make America a welcome place for everyone, long-established citizens and new arrivals alike. Especially now, when we feel our identity, culture, and values changing shape, the collective message from all the diverse voices in this inspiring book is one of hope for the future. Now in paperback with a new preface.

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Making America a welcome place for everyone, from long-established citizens to immigrants who have just arrived. This compelling approach to the immigration debate takes the reader behind the blaring headlines and into communities grappling with the reality of new immigrants and the changing nature of American identity. Ali Noorani, the Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, interviews nearly fifty local and national leaders from law enforcement, business, immigrant, and faith communities to illustrate the challenges and opportunities they face. From high school principals to church pastors to sheriffs, the author reveals that most people are working to advance society's interests, not exploiting a crisis at the expense of one community. As he shows, some cities and regions have reached a happy conclusion, while others struggle to find balance. Whether describing a pastor preaching to the need to welcome the stranger, a sheriff engaging the Muslim community, or a farmer's wind-whipped face moistened by tears as he tells the story of his farmworkers being deported, the author helps readers to realize that America's immigration debate isn't about policy; it is about the culture and values that make America what it is. The people on the front lines of America's cultural and demographic debate are Southern Baptist pastors in South Carolina, attorneys general in Utah or Indiana, Texas businessmen, and many more. Their combined voices make clear that all of them are working to make America a welcome place for everyone, long-established citizens and new arrivals alike. Especially now, when we feel our identity, culture, and values changing shape, the collective message from all the diverse voices in this inspiring book is one of hope for the future.

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A captivating photographic portrait of the diverse experiences of immigrants in the United States, depicting the resilience and realities of building a home in a new place.Disturbed by the increasingly hostile views of immigrants that arose in the United States during the 2016 presidential election, photographer Colin Boyd Shafer set out on a road trip to meet hundreds of families and individuals with roots abroad who now live in America. The result, after a year of travel covering fifty thousand miles, is this collection of striking photos and moving stories that form a portrait of the nation’s complex and shifting relationship to immigration. Some of the participants chose to make America home; others were displaced by crises. Some were warmly welcomed and granted citizenship; others battled the immigration system for years and still live with fear and uncertainty. Their circumstances and origins vary, but all are united by a willingness to share their stories—of harrowing journeys, intense love, separated families, passionate activism—in hopes of adding nuance and depth to a vital issue that continues to polarize Americans.

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