SARAH TOWLE And CROSSING THE LINE:
finding America in the borderlands
in the media
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Kirkus, the standard-bearer of the book reviewing world, gives CROSSING THE LINE a rave review, calling it “A powerful exposé of the human costs of America’s immigration policies.” Find the full review here.
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On Launch Day, June 18, President Biden announced at long last that roughly 500,000 thousand undocumented spouses of US citizens will now be eligible for protection from deportation for their “unlawful presence” in the US. Just minutes before Camilo Perez-Bustillo and I took to the stage at San Francisco’s Medicine for Nightmares Bookstore & Gallery, we were in conversation with Dennis Bernstein, host of Flashpoints on Pacifica Radio, KPFA, 94.1 FM.
Find it on Apple Podcasts or from the website at kpfa.org. Our segment starts at 42:00.
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In this guest article for Writer’s Digest, How to Make an Audiobook: Let Me Count the Ways…, I switch from politics to publishing processes to share my experience of being offered "a deal" with a production company to turn CROSSING THE LINE into an audiobook, why I turned it down, and what I ended up doing instead. Note: the post includes numbers and percentages.
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As I was hurtling my way down a California highway en route from handselling books into Los Angeles bookstores to this evening’s book talk and hosted event, my publicist at Books Forward, Angelle Barbazon, shared the news that CROSSING THE LINE was bestowed a Gold Award by the Nonfiction Authors Association, and after just one week of life. So exciting!
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In this interview with Michigan’s NPR affiliate, host April Baer and I talk about one big takeaway chronicled in CROSSING THE LINE: FINDING AMERICA IN THE BORDERLANDS: how the 21st-century obsession with “security” at all costs, even that of human lives, the US immigration system has shifted away from its 20th-century human rights focus.
You’ll find our archived conversation here, starting at the 31:45 mark. Enjoy!
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In this interview with the director of the Hampshire College alumni association, I introduce CROSSING THE LINE and discuss how US foreign and economic policies dating back through time led to forced displacement and human migration, meaning that the so-called “crisis at the border” was 100% Made in the USA.
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The good folks at Ann Arbor’s incredible district library live-streamed my author talk, then posted it to YouTube!
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An unexpected gem, this was a super fun interview with Felix Teitelbaum, host of CREATIVES, in the days before my hosted event at Ithaca’s Buffalo Street Books. In it, Felix asks me about how the global “deterence-to-detention-to-deportation complex” impacts the lives of real people, both people on the move and those offering welcome. We discuss what I believe to be the real “crisis at the border” — spolier alert: it’s not what politicians and pundits insist on talking about. We talk about who the US immigration system hurts and, on the flip side, who is benefitting from the human misery it has spawned.
Access the interview here. It’s a goodie!
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From the KTAL 101.5 FM website: “Lisa Lucca has a timely conversation with author Sarah Towle about her new book, Crossing The Line: Finding America in the Borderlands. Her research and passion for sharing the stories of those seeking opportunities in the US are extraordinary and powerful.”
This was a rare gem of an interview, if I do say so myself — except for my error in calling the former guy and convicted felon 43… 3X! (So embarrassing.) But hey, there’s a reason I’m a writer and not a mathematician. I do know that 43 was the second member of the Bush dynasty to occupy the Oval Office, whereas the avowed sexual predator was the 45th. One day, Lisa and I will correct that factual error — committed in the heat of the moment, I assure you. Meantime…
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Mission accomplished! In only one month, CROSSING THE LINE has succeeded in piercing the echo chamber! Now to see what might come of it: Will it be crickets or controversy? Me, I'm crossing my fingers for the latter.
Check out my latest interview with Michael Baranowski of The Politics Guys, “an independent, bipartisan, ideologically diverse American politics and policy podcast hosted by experts: political scientists, law professors, practicing attorneys, and former government officials.”
Now we can add “independent researcher and award-winning authors” to that list!
Find Mike and my conversation on Apple Podcasts or at The Politics Guys website.
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Sarah is interviewed by Sandra Sanchez of the Border Report in a report entitled, "Immigration Book Highlights Migrant Struggles During Trump Years and Volunteerism at Border Camps"
Sandra states, "Great Book!," then digs in to learn more about the origin-story of the Dignity Village Collaborative as well as get the author's thoughts on crazy Ken Paxton's un-winnable investigations against those offering welcome at the US-Mexico border. The interview also ran on both CBS4 and NBC23 evening news!
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A report about Crossing the Line through the lens of the Rio Grande Valley volunteers and providers during the Trump years.
Read more about it from Austin here.
The same report landed on Fox News -- they must not know that I've boycotted their service.
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The U.S. Border Patrol turns 100 this year, marking a century of hunting people; stoking vigilante violence; and erecting physical, technological, and bureaucratic barriers—many lethal—against human beings in need. But walls have never been the solution. Indeed, they are the reason cruelty, chaos, and corruption prevail at our crossroads, especially along the U.S. frontier with Mexico. Patrols and checkpoints, gateways and guns, militarization—in lieu of humanitarian mobilization—these represent the real crisis at our borders today: the hardening of the human heart, a world in which empathy has seemingly expired.
Border barriers respond to only one question: How do we stop them?
Our starting point should be: Why are so many people on the run?
When Walls Are the Only Answer, We’re Asking the Wrong Question
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Hoy en Mochilero, la escritora SARAH TOWLE, nos habla sobre su libro: Crossing the Line; Finding America in the Borderlands, antes de los eventos de lanzamiento de su libro en el área de Kingston, Nueva York, en septiembre de 2024.
Today in Mochilero, the writer SARAH TOWLE, talks to us about her book: Crossing the Line; Finding America in the Borderlands, ahead of her book launch events in the Kingston, New York area in September 2024
https://www.facebook.com/radiokingstonNY/videos/896370735844901
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Episode 1074 | Author of Crossing the Line: Finding America in the Borderlands, Sarah Towle
Sarah Towle joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about her book "Crossing the Line: Finding America in the Borderlands" where she writes about how unwelcoming our government is to people fleeing danger and seeking refuge at our border with Mexico.
LISTEN NOW:
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Interview with author Sarah Towle on immigration issues
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Author Sarah Towle discusses her book, Crossing the Line, with members of the Greater Astoria Historical Society, Astoria, New York.
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Sarah Towle discusses her book, Crossing the Line, with members of the Borderlands Community Alliance Borderlands Literature & Film Circle:
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The Border as a Many-Headed Hydra: A Q&A with Sarah Towle
“The real crisis at the U.S. southern border is not the people coming across, but the hardening of the human heart,” says the author of CROSSING THE LINE.
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Join HOPE and author Sarah Towle, author ofCrossing the Line: Finding America in the Borderlands for two events as we re-tell the story of how El Paso fought back against family separation, as well as a critical discussion on immigration and the future of our borderland community. Click here for more details: https://mailchi.mp/hopeborder.org/exciting-news-from-the-borderlands-5671397?e=3ce706d8cd
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Hope Border Institute’s election and migration event illuminates deadly immigration policies and community resistance.
Crossing the Line: Finding America in the Borderlands by Sarah Towle explores the complex realities of life along the U.S.-Mexico border, highlighting personal stories of migration, resilience, and identity in the region.
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Sharing the stage at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, Sarah Towle moderates a panel of immigration experts following the East Coast Premiere of Running to Stand Still, a new film by Bob Bilheimer and Heidi Ostertag of Worldwide Documentaries.
Many on the panel are also featured in Crossing the Line. They joined local heroes from the American Friends Service Committee to discuss one of the most important, yet misunderstood, topics of our time: immigration and the human cost of US policies.
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Sarah Towle will be in the area to discuss her book Crossing the Line: Finding America in the Borderlands. The event is hosted by Amnesty International Mid-Hudson in partnership with Elting Memorial Library and Inquiring Minds Bookstore. Towle will discuss her gripping journey through the U.S. southern border and the American immigration system, as explored in her latest book, which chronicles her transformation from witness to activist. This blend of memoir, history, and oral storytelling sheds light on the human impact of policies and the resilience of those striving for justice. Copies of Crossing the Line will be available for purchase through Inquiring Minds on-site.
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Mass deportations are not only cruel, they threaten the very soul of America | Social Views, PennLive, with Joyce Davis.
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What You Don't Know About a Mass Deportation—How It Feels
The truth is, few people know. And those who do know aren’t telling. Or can’t. Well, I know. And we should all be horrified.
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/mass-deportations-human-rights
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Earlier this week, I had the privilege of speaking with Sarah Towle about her remarkable new book, Crossing the Line: Finding America in the Borderlands. The conversation was as rich and moving as the book itself—full of insight, moral clarity, and the kind of grounded optimism that comes from being in the trenches of human rights work. I’m excited to share the full audio of our discussion with you here.
Sarah and I talked about the brokenness of the U.S. immigration system, yes—but also about the people who refuse to look away. Drawing from extensive on-the-ground research along the U.S.-Mexico border, Sarah brings readers into contact with the individuals and communities who are doing the real work of welcome and resistance.
Find the broadcast behind this link at Substack @ Austin Kocher.
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Immigration Teach-In, with Sarah Towle in collaboration with area co-sponsors: Massachusetts Immigrant Rights Advocacy Coalition, LUCE, Asian Pacific Islanders Civic Action Network, Asian American Resource Workshop, Massachusetts Peace, Action, and Beacon Hill Friends, hosted by the Community Church of Boston
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Sarah Towle, author of "Crossing the Line: Finding America in the Borderlands" talks about the current immigration policies in the United States, which has been weaponized and is driving democracy in the U.S. into further crisis. She is the 2024 Nonfiction Book Award Gold Winner and recipient of the 2024 CIBA Nellie Bly Award First Place Winner for Journalistic Nonfiction.
https://soundcloud.com/wrfihumanrightsshow/sarah-towle_4upload
For more information visit, sarahtowle.com
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“Peace and Justice in PA” is part of PennLive’s “live journalism” event series and examines PA’s current state of affairs around diversity, equity, and inclusion. The keynote address is delivered by Sarah Towle, author of “Crossing the Line: Finding America in the Borderlands." This is recorded at PennLive's office after a power outage at the original location, Penn State Harrisburg.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMSbxSDQkKI&t=2921s
Towle is an educator, researcher, and human rights advocate who has documented the experiences of immigrants and refugees, including the process of deportation, which she describes as mean, cruel, and inhumane to people simply trying to survive. You can watch the first part of the event, held at Penn State Harrisburg, which included a state of the union by Chad Dion Lassiter, Executive Director of Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, here: Peace and Justice 2025.
Find Sarah’s book at:
Bookshop.org https://bookshop.org/p/books/crossing...
Amazon.com https://www.amazon.com/Crossing-Line-...
Continue this conversation with Sarah on Substack @ Tales of Humanity https://sarahtowle.substack.com/
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How was Donald Trump able to so quickly transform the “broken” immigration system into a spear pointed at the heart of US democracy? Why are paramilitary forces patrolling US city streets?
Sarah Towle’s harrowing narrative nonfiction account of the first Trump regime’s record—family separation, kids in cages, those who remain in Mexico, illegal mass deportations—and the resistance and resilience of those caught in the implacable machinery, was nothing less than a preview of the brutality to come.
Music by Rod MacDonald
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK8QkOUXA_U&t=1471s
Hosting speakers since 1920, the Community Church of Boston is a Unitarian Universalist religious community affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), whose mission is to cultivate a spiritual space rooted in universal values such as compassion, responsibility, and loving solidarity. We are a non-partisan, non-ideological organization committed to open dialogue on matters of social, political, and cultural concern, in alignment with our educational and spiritual principles. This disclaimer affirms our adherence to legal requirements and clarifies that our programming supports education, spiritual development, and community service—not partisan advocacy.
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By Cyrus Jones
for The Oracle, The official student paper of SUNY New Paltzhttps://oracle.newpaltz.edu/author-sarah-towle-shares-stories-from-the-border/