Crossing the Line (Revised Edition) - by Sarah Towle (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Harnessing the emotional truth, narrative power, and moral vision of Morrison, Kingsolver, and Zinn, Sarah Towle's urgent and evocative journey of discovery reveals how the US immigration system evolved into a weapon to drive democracy into crisis.

2024 Nonfiction Book Award Gold Medal Winner
2024 CIBA Nellie Bly Award First Place Winner for Journalistic Nonfiction
2025 RFK Human Rights Book Award Nominee
A SocialJusticeBook.org featured book for "Teaching About Immigration"

It was family separation and "kids in cages" that drove Sarah Towle to the US southern border. On discovering the many-headed hydra that is the US immigration system--and the heroic determination of those caught under its knee--she could never look away again. Crossing the Line: Finding America in the Borderlands charts Sarah's journey from outrage to activism to abolition as she exposes, layer by "broken" layer, the global deterrence to detention to deportation complex that is failing everyone--save the profiteers and demagogues who benefit from it.

Deftly weaving together oral storytelling, history, and memoir, Sarah illustrates how the US has led the retreat from post-WWII commitments to protecting human rights. Yet within the web of normalized cruelty, she finds hope and inspiration in the extraordinary acts of ordinary people who prove, every day, there is a better way. By amplifying their voices and celebrating their efforts, Sarah reveals that we can welcome with dignity those most in need of safety and compassion. In unmasking the real root causes of the so-called "crisis" in human migration, she urges us to act before we travel much farther down our current course--one which history will not soon forgive, or forget.

Review Quotes

2024 Nonfiction Book Award Gold Medal Winner
2024 CIBA Nellie Bly Award First Place Winner for Journalistic Nonfiction
2025 RFK Human Rights Book Award Nominee
A SocialJusticeBook.org featured book for "Teaching About Immigration"

"Towle's eye-opening narrative . . . offers an astute analysis that provides a well-researched overview of the current immigration system . . . A powerful exposé of the human costs of America's immigration policies."--Kirkus Reviews

". . . an expertly written, deeply human exposé . . . It brings clarity to a very complicated situation, leaving the reader well-informed . . . It enlightens as much as it devastates . . . With the effect of immigration being felt globally, this should be everyone's must-read."--Nonfiction Authors Association, Gold Award Review

"Towle has obliterated today's dead-end arguments about immigration and transformed them into riveting, human stories. We forget that ideas--good and bad--have always crossed our borderlines; only human beings need a piece of paper. We all deserve a narrative with clarity, and Towle's has delivered. Spectacular!"--Ken Burns, filmmaker

"Simultaneously a searing indictment of inhumane immigration policies and a moving testament to the resilience of the human spirit, Sarah Towle's Crossing the Line is public-interest storytelling at its finest. A brilliant, engaging, and essential read for anyone seeking a true understanding of America's borderlands."--Toluse Olorunnipa, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of His Name Is George Floyd: One Man's Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice

"With Crossing the Line Sarah Towle exposes the relentlessly cruel US immigration system . . . as she restores humanity to an issue currently lost in a blizzard of polarizing ideology and hate. Sarah makes it clear that what is unfolding now is not just Trump-era politics--it's rooted in American exploitation of our southern neighbors. For anyone who wants to understand the dysfunctional immigration debate beyond slogans, Crossing the Line is an absolute must-read."--Scott Allen, former Editor, The Boston Globe Spotlight Investigative Team

"A beautiful book, awesomely reported. What an accomplishment and contribution to this issue. Sarah has written this with great empathy. The focus remains squarely on rehumanizing those most harmed by US immigration policies. The chronology makes the meta-story even more riveting and appalling."--Heidi Ostertag, executive producer of Running to Stand Still--Migrants Search For Hope in The Promised Land, Worldwide Documentaries

"Crossing the Line is a well-researched yet accessible exposé of border policies that harm migrants and undermine the promise of America. From the 'family separation' policies of the Trump administration to the massive growth of immigrant detention, Towle's ability to weave together first-hand stories of accidental activists--including priests, attorneys, and concerned locals--with the broader policy context is on display in an ambitious book infused with a profound commitment to humanity and justice. Every concerned citizen should read this book."--Austin Kocher, Research Assistant Professor, Syracuse University

"In Crossing the Line, Towle achieves something few writers can: She catalogs years of the US government's nightmarish cruelty towards migrants without tipping into despair. It's an inspiring account of many tireless, and seemingly fearless, immigration advocates standing up for justice and humanity. Towle's personal tale, too, is a smart and moving grappling with the moral calamity that is the US immigration enforcement regime. I challenge any reader to pick up this book and not be shaken, disturbed, and ultimately committed to a better and more just world."--John Washington, author of A Case for Open Borders

"With a propulsive narrative and an engaging style, Crossing the Line is an important contribution to our understanding of the borderlands, and by extension, America itself."--Reece Jones, author of White Borders, Violent Borders, and Nobody is Protected

"Thanks for lifting up these voices and not relenting. Congratulations on a compelling read."--Luz Virginia Lopez, Senior Supervising Attorney, Southern Poverty Law Center

"What grace-filled and beautiful writing. Thank you for capturing our community's story!"--Dylan Corbett, Executive Director, Hope Border Institute; and Regional Assistant Coordinator, Vatican Migrants & Refugees Section

"A powerful work. Sweeping and majestic, and a striking, flowing synthesis to tell the overall story that needs to be told."--Camilo Perez-Bustillo, author of Human Rights, Hegemony, and Utopia in Latin America

"Inspiring and transporting from the opening passage. A journey of historical context expertly weaved into the human experience, allows the reader to relate to the current border climate on so many levels. I did not want to stop reading. Abrazos."--Elizabeth "Lizee" Cavazos, Angry Tías & Abuelas of the Rio Grande Valley

"Absolutely BRILLIANT, a masterpiece! It feels so lonely at times, like no one understands. But Sarah sees us here in the borderlands, flying the tattered flag of this country's ideals are. It touched me deeply."--Madeleine Sandefur, Angry Tías & Abuelas of the Rio Grande Valley

"Sometimes you ache for the unvarnished truth. Sarah Towle tells it in this book--the whole truth, good, bad, and ugly. She speaks for the silent hordes seeking 'the lamp beside the golden door' to be opened for them, giving access to the wonder that is America."--Merry Hancock, Cameroon Advocacy Network

"Powerful and true. An important historical account."--Juan-David Lucio, Team Brownsville

About the Author

Sarah Towle is an international educator, researcher, and award-winning author; a human rights defender, nature lover, and choral soprano. She resides in an ephemeral borderlands, buffeted and buoyed by a diversity of languages, cultures, landscapes, and creeds. She has taught English language literacy, cross-cultural communication, conflict resolution skills, and the writing craft for three decades on four continents across the age span and in myriad contexts, including under the trees in refugee settings. Crossing the Line: Finding America in the Borderlands, a Nonfiction Authors Association Gold Medal recipient, launched in June 2024 to rave reviews from filmmaker Ken Burns, Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Toluse Olorunnipa, former Boston Globe Spotlight editor Scott Allen, and Kirkus Reviews, which called it "A powerful exposé of the human costs of America's immigration policies." Sarah publishes regularly on Substack@Tales of Humanity. Her op-eds have appeared in the Boston Globe, Common Dreams, and Al Jazeera. Find her podcast, From the Borderlands, wherever you listen. To learn more about both book and author, please visit www.sarahtowle.com.