Jumping the Line

by Michael G. Harpold

Overview

In 1965, Congress ends the practice of bringing Mexican workers to the United States to Harvest crops, but Miguel Hernandez still needs work. Despite border patrols, taunts, and, "coyotes", Miguel jumps the line. Returning to his country makes little difference. He continues to cross. And farmers continue to hire him, despite American farmworkers being available.Over the years, laws change, but the demand for Mexican workers increases. Ignoring or obeying the rules, farmworkers on all sides--ranch owners, union organizers, immigrants, illegal border crossers, Mexican farmers--do their best to make a living. With sensitivity and, at times, heartbreaking realism, Harpold presents families caught in the web of migratory farm work spun by demand for cheap labor. Over the decades, paths of the families interweave, break away, and then get caught together again. All struggle to create a better life for themselves and their loved ones. Some find success. Others keep trying. A few never make it. Like John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, Harpold's Jumping the Line puts a human face to those providing our food. Having seen many sides of the immigration issue through his work with the US Immigration and Naturalization Service along the Mexican border, Harpold presents a realistic view of the experiences of farmers, illegal immigrants, and American farmworkers where complex issues and humane considerations defy simple solutions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781940598147
Publisher:	Michael G. Harpold
Publication date:	11/19/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	562 KB

What People are Saying About This

Leila Kheiry

"Through its fictional characters, Jumping the Line provides an intriguing and accurate look at an issue historically important and still debated. The author treats his characters with compassion but doesn't gloss over their mistakes. Readers will be sucked in by the story and come away with a stronger understanding of the everyday realities farmworkers face."

Editorial Reviews

"I really enjoyed the book and coming from an immigrant family it made me cry at times as well. Thank you for your depiction of the struggle that some people have to endure when they have to jump the line."

El Paso, TX - San Juanita Gallegos

"With clearly drawn characters, a crisp storyline and illuminating details, Harpold succeeds in personalizing the story of agriculture-based migrants into the United States from Mexico. — It felt honest and real; informative but not preachy. Something of value."

The Ketchikan Daily News - Scott Bowlen

2014-10-08
A heart-rending novel by a former U.S. Border Patrol agent that explores how Mexican migrant workers are willing to endanger their lives for the prospect of better ones in America. After legal Mexican migrant labor is discontinued in 1965, Miguel's first illegal entry into the United States terrifies him. A kindly farmer takes him in, but his Mexican-American farmhand, Ohscar, is so desperate to maintain his own family's newfound financial stability that he reports Miguel's presence to the Border Patrol, with disastrous consequences. Meanwhile, Ohscar's teenage son Javier has few social or education options. In an act of rebellion, he agrees to be the driver for the moronic Chuy, a "coyote" who smuggles undocumented immigrants across the border and who foolishly wants to branch out into drugs. The lives of these three men and their families intersect for the next three decades as they experience successes and frequent misfortunes. They're complex characters who occasionally do wrong things, but they all realize their errors or pay the price for them (with the exception of the irredeemably evil Chuy). Harpold's sympathetic account touches on union organizing and Cesar Chavez, but more extensively explicates the naïveté, vulnerability and desperation of workers and the exploitation they still experience despite myriad changes in policy and law—not just from employers, but from "coyotes" as well. Harpold, who worked for the U.S. Border Patrol, interestingly depicts agents as vindictive and officious. If the novel has a flaw, however, it's that it portrays some of its Mexican characters as almost childlike in their naïveté. Overall, this sad but realistic tale challenges its readers to examine the stereotypes of migrant workers and undocumented immigrants and the ultimate costs of cheap labor. A debut novel about a timely issue elucidated with an insider's understanding and sensitivity.

Kirkus Reviews