I don’t think most people understand the immigration system. It is and always has been legal for immigrants to seek asylum in the US, but it has become more and more difficult for people to seek safety and that is a shame. This is a true account of what happens on the ground at the Mexico-US border, written by a priest who tried to aid those who were seeking asylum. It is a brutally honest account of the horrors and tragedies some of these people encountered.

Everyone should read this book. It is eye-opening, tragic and horrifying. It is written with an honesty rarely seen these days. Thank you, NetGalley and Broadleaf Books for the eARC.

It was surreal to be reading this book on January 20th.

People who are outraged about immigration and undocumented folks often say, “They should just come here legally.” I am not an immigration expert, but I do know some things! I know that it is very difficult to immigrate legally. We are one of the least generous countries when it comes to immigration, and while Congress could change that, they have refused to do so (yay xenophobia). At the same time, our country relies on the labor of undocumented people, some of whom were recruited here to work. We are exploiting people and then blaming them for our problems.

But like I said, I am not an immigration expert so one of the things I am working on in 2025 is learning more about immigration. I had the chance to read this book that is coming out in March, and I am so glad I did. In it, Cristina Rathbone, a priest, spent a year at our southern border with asylum seekers. If you saw the videos of people at the border weeping when their appointments were canceled, this is where she was. It is not illegal to seek asylum. It is clear in the book that we aren’t even following our own laws when it comes to asylum - those seeking asylum are constantly being told that America is full. And now, of course, it appears that asylum is ended. The stories that she hears and the strength and despair she bears witness to broke my heart open. Her work was so valuable and so draining, and she helps remind the reader of the ways that these numbers and groups of people are individuals with stories.

This is a wonderful book - she is an excellent writer and these are people and stories we should all care about. Her faith reflections are woven in skillfully and without being sentimental. Highly recommended.

An honest account of Mexican men, women, and children trying to gain asylum in the U.S. from a priest on the ground. She listens and tries to help doing whatever she can. Frustration with the
U. S. guards and soldiers and the corruption she sees within the system is shocking and inhumane.

Cristina Rathbone writes with compassion about the people trying to cross over into the U.S. Their stories about the violence they experienced are almost too much for her to bear. She relies on her faith and prayer to continue her work.

This is a memoir everyone should read to understand what happens at the U.S.-Mexico border fully.

Cristina Rathbone’s The Asylum Seekers is a harrowing and deeply human account of life at the US-Mexico border, where hope, resilience, and unimaginable hardship converge. Rathbone, an award-winning journalist and Episcopal priest, brings her unique background to Juarez, weaving intimate portraits of asylum seekers with reflections on faith and the resilience of the human spirit.

Rathbone, who has previously offered powerful insights into life in schools and prisons, turned to the cloth and now pastors unhoused families in the Northeast. Her dual perspective as a journalist and spiritual leader infuses the narrative with compassion and clarity. In The Asylum Seekers, she chronicles life in a makeshift tent camp at the foot of a bridge, where families fleeing trauma risk everything to seek asylum. Amid the chaos of families arriving, departing, and sometimes being forcibly returned, Rathbone captures both the despair and the beauty of a community determined to survive. She writes of grief-stricken parents, children playing in perilous conditions, and the haunting stories of those mourning unimaginable loss.

Yet, Rathbone also highlights the strength and ingenuity of the asylum seekers. Over time, a leadership team emerges, donations are distributed, and even classes for children begin. As an unofficial chaplain, Rathbone listens, supports, and learns what authentic faith looks like under these extreme conditions.

Drawing on her personal connection—her mother was a Cuban refugee—Rathbone weaves the intimate stories of asylum seekers with broader reflections on community, endurance, and the moral obligations we owe one another.

#broadleafbooks #theasylumseekers #cristinarathbone

This was an eye opening book about Rathbone's experience at the Mexico-US border before the pandemic. These pages are full of sadness, frustration and despair, but also hope, love, and community. I don't think any of us have any understanding of what this process is like if we have never witnessed it and been a part of it.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read this book.

I thought this was good, and it was interesting to learn about what is going on at the border. The disappointments I had with the book were not really the author's fault - the religious Christian language did not resonate with me, and I wanted more in-depth profiles of some of the families in Juarez. This wasn't really possible because the families didn't stay long, and she did a good job portraying the general situation, especially the strength and spirit of the children.