Includes bibliographical references (pages 318-330) and index.

Introduction: A letter to the girl at McAllen Airport -- Land of false promises -- How I became American -- Is this what democracy looks like? -- Nowhere to hide -- Embracing a new identity -- Finding my voice -- You can take care of me a little -- A taste of the action -- Working mother -- The end of the world will be televised -- Confrontations -- Citizen journalist -- The new power of "INMIGRANTE" -- What I cannot unsee -- Trauma inherited -- Owning my voice -- Illegal is not a noun -- The power of standing in the light.

"Emmy Award-winning NPR journalist Maria Hinojosa shares her personal story interwoven with American immigration policy's coming-of-age journey at a time when our country's branding went from "The Land of the Free" to "the land of invasion.""-- Provided by publisher.

Hinojosa relates the history of US immigration policy that has brought us to where we are today, as she shares her experience growing up Mexican American on the south side of Chicago. For thirty years she has reported on stories and communities in America that often go ignored by the mainstream media, documenting the existential wasteland of immigration detention camps for news outlets that often challenged her work. As a survivor, a feminist, a citizen, and a journalist who owns her voice while striving for the truth, Hinojosa makes an urgent call to fellow Americans to open their eyes to the immigration crisis-- and understand that it affects us all. -- adapted from jacket.