Stranger: The Challenge of a Latino Immigrant in the Trump Era by Jorge Ramos

”There are times when I feel like a stranger in this country. I am not complaining and it's not for lack of opportunity. But it is something of a disappointment. I never would have imagined that after having spent thirty five years in the United States I would still be a stranger to so many. But that's how it is."

Jorge Ramos, an Emmy award-winning journalist, Univision's longtime anchorman and widely considered the "voice of the voiceless" within the Latino community, was forcefully removed from an Iowa press conference in 2015 by then-candidate Donald Trump after trying to ask about his plans on immigration.

In this personal manifesto, Ramos sets out to examine what it means to be a Latino immigrant, or just an immigrant, in present-day America. Using current research and statistics, with a journalist's nose for a story, and interweaving his own personal experience, Ramos shows us the changing face of America while also trying to find an explanation for why he, and millions of others, still feel like strangers in this country.

Even though Ramos states that this isn’t a book about Trump, the Big Orange One is a key player. What I wish is that there had been more of Ramos’ personal experiences. There were some, but much of what he wrote about were the policies put in place by the current, and, unfortunately, the past administration.

But I wanted to learn more about Ramos’ own experiences in order to compare it to what my own grandparents might have experienced. Since it was never talked about, I really don’t know what they went through, though, going by history, it was probably just as rough then as now.

I already knew most of what is covered in the book, so I’d say it’s very much a book for someone new to the subject.




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