A 2019 NPR Staff Pick
**
A timely argument for why the United States and the West would benefit
from accepting more immigrants**
There are few subjects in American life that prompt more discussion and
controversy than immigration. But do we really understand it? In This
Land Is Our Land, the renowned author Suketu Mehta attacks the issue
head-on. Drawing on his own experience as an Indian-born teenager
growing up in New York City and on years of reporting around the world,
Mehta subjects the worldwide anti-immigrant backlash to withering
scrutiny.
As he explains, the West is being destroyed not by immigrants but by the
fear of immigrants. Mehta juxtaposes the phony narratives of populist
ideologues with the ordinary heroism of laborers, nannies, and others,
from Dubai to Queens, and explains why more people are on the move today
than ever before. As civil strife and climate change reshape large parts
of the planet, it is little surprise that borders have become so porous.
But Mehta also stresses the destructive legacies of colonialism and
global inequality on large swaths of the world: When today's immigrants
are asked, "Why are you here?" they can justly respond, "We are here
because you were there." And now that they are here, as Mehta
demonstrates, immigrants bring great benefits, enabling countries and
communities to flourish.
Impassioned, rigorous, and richly stocked with memorable stories and
characters, This Land Is Our Land is a timely and necessary
intervention, and a literary polemic of the highest order.
