Now We Are Here

Every day families make one of the most difficult decisions in their lives: leave their homes in search of a safer and better future for their children. Now We Are Here is the story of how the ideal of a good American education underwrites the migratory decisions, trajectories, and experiences of migrant families. Through innovative and in-depth ethnographic research in schools and in homes conducted between 2018 and 2021, Gabrielle Oliveira takes readers into the lives of 16 migrant families from Brazil, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. She interweaves stories of parental sacrifice, children's experience of schooling, teachers' understandings of the trauma experienced by these families, and the consequences of a global pandemic on already-vulnerable families. Oliveira provides a rich view into the full lives of migrant families and centers their power to resist multiple emergencies. After facing detention and/or separation at the U.S. border, these families also faced the unexpected disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic. The compounded traumas of leaving home, harsh border policies, and a public health crisis pushed families to reconceptualize their ideas of education and what it might mean to make a life in a new country. Recounting everyday struggles and stories of determination amid devastating circumstances, this book reflects on migrant journeys and educational opportunity in the United States.