The novel The Leavers by Lisa Ko details the story of Deming Guo and his journey in America after his mother’s sudden disappearance. The story is actually based off of a 2009 article from the New York Times about a woman who was detained by I.C.E at a bus stop while waiting to go to work in Florida, which is similar to what happened to Deming’s mother. Immigration is something that is often encouraged and what differs the United States from other countries. The effects of immigration play a constant role throughout the novel and show a more accurate depiction of the obstacles that families can face when trying to travel somewhere else to seek a better life.
According to The Pew Research Center (2012), from 2000 to 2010 the Asian-American immigrant population grew by an additional 2.8 million. The process to become a citizen can often times be stringent and time-consuming, taking up to a year in some cases (International Rescue Committee, 2018). Combining the sudden surge of immigrants during that time with the already long process to become a citizen, many are left as undocumented or “illegal” immigrants, such as in the case of Deming and his mother. This can lead to detention and deportation, which can separate parents from their children. This sudden separation can be devastating, as the case with Deming, and can lead to negative effects that hinder the child’s development. From 2009 to 2012, the number of detentions increased by 25 percent (Center for Migration Studies, 2016) which lines up with the novel and why Deming’s mom ended up getting detained due the increase in enforcement and detentions.
Immigration is a great thing and allows people from all over the world to take control of their lives and strive for better. When done properly, it is a beautiful process that can change the course of a family for generations but the process can be very taxing and can have lasting negative effects that are hard for any family to overcome.
Works Cited:
“Chapter 1: Portrait of Asian Americans.” Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends Project, Pew Research Center, 19 June 2012, www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2012/06/19/chapter-1-portrait-of-asian-americans/.
Ink, Social. “Immigration Detention: Behind the Record Numbers.” The Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS), The Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS), 19 July 2016, cmsny.org/immigration-detention-behind-the-record-numbers/.
“How Immigrants and Refugees Become U.S. Citizens.” International Rescue Committee (IRC), International Rescue Committee (IRC), 16 Sept. 2020, www.rescue.org/article/how-immigrants-and-refugees-become-us-citizens.