From the archives: How immigration shapes America

This week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas features a conversation with historian Kelly Lytle Hernandez about her new book, “Bad Mexicans.” It tells the dramatic and often overlooked story of the magonistas, the migrant rebels who sparked the 1910 Mexican Revolution from the United States, and how their escapades threatened to undo the rise of Anglo-American power, on both sides of the border, and created the world of fraught immigration we live in today.

To prepare for that discussion, here’s a selection from the archives — a 2017 “Indivisible” conversation Miller had with Eboo Patel and Tamar Jacoby that examines how America’s history as a land of immigrants can be maintained under then President Trump’s divisive immigration policies.

Guests:

• Eboo Patel is the founder and president of Interfaith America (formerly Interfaith Youth Core) and the author of several books, including “We Need to Build: Field Notes for Diverse Democracy.”

• Tamar Jacoby is currently the president of Opportunity America. At the time of this recording, she was president and CEO of ImmigrationWorks USA. She is also the author of several books, including “Reinventing the Melting Pot: The New Immigrants and What It Means To Be American.”

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS.

Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations.