Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here

The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis

By: Jonathan Blitzer

Narrated by: Jonathan Blitzer, André Santana

A National Bestseller • A New York Times Top 10 Book of 2024 • Named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker, Chicago Tribune, Newsweek, PBS NewsHour, LitHub, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Lunch, Christian Science Monitor, and Counterpunch • One of Barack Obama's Summer Reading List Picks • Named a Notable Book by New York Times and Washington Post • Nominated for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence and the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction

“What an incredibly thorough documentation of the causes of the immigration crisis, the discussions that have been going on through multiple administrations.” —Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

“Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here is sure to take its place as one of the definitive accounts of the U.S. and Central American immigration puzzle. . . . Hopefully, those with the power to change things will listen.” —Manuel Roig-Franzia, Washington Post

An epic, heartbreaking, and deeply reported history of the disastrous humanitarian crisis at the southern border told through the lives of the migrants forced to risk everything and the policymakers who determine their fate, by New Yorker staff writer Jonathan Blitzer

Everyone who makes the journey faces an impossible choice. Hundreds of thousands of people who arrive every year at the US-Mexico border travel far from their homes. For years, the majority came from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, but many more have begun their journey much farther away. Some flee persecution, others crime or hunger. They may have already been deported, but the United States remains their only hope for safety and prosperity. They will take their chances.

As Jonathan Blitzer dramatizes with forensic, unprecedented reporting, this crisis is the result of decades of misguided policy and sweeping corruption. Brilliantly weaving the stories of Central Americans whose lives have been devastated by chronic political conflict and violence with those of American activists, government officials, and the politicians responsible for the country’s tragically tangled immigration policy, Blitzer reveals the full, layered picture of this vast and unremitting conflict.

Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here tells the epic story of the people whose lives ebb and flow across the border, delving into the heart of American life itself. This vital and remarkable story has shaped the nation’s turbulent politics and culture in countless ways—and will almost certainly determine its future.

©2024 Jonathan Blitzer (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“As Jonathan Blitzer shows in Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here, his timely and instructive history of the immigration crisis, the trouble at the border isn’t likely to be solved soon, since it is the outcome of a long and vexed entanglement between the United States and its southern neighbors . . . Conflicts over immigration often arise from similarity rather than difference, and the strangers at our border have a familiar history that Blitzer tells in meticulous and vivid detail. It is our own.” —Matthieu Aikins, The New York Times

“What an incredibly thorough documentation of the causes of the immigration crisis, the discussions that have been going on through multiple administrations.” —Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

“Powerful and deeply compelling, Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here shows how Central American migration has created deep interconnections between the US, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. This story reminds readers that migration is not only a political issue but a human one.” —Ana Raquel Minian, author of In the Shadow of Liberty

A must read for anyone who has thought about immigration

Thoroughly researched; unsentimental and uncompromising. Clearly illustrates how US’s failed foreign policies in Central America are the source of the immigration crisis.

Simply outstanding

A tremendous feat of reportage featuring compelling portraits of people ensnared by (and courageously fighting against) anti-immigration policy and politics. Captures the absurdity and hypocrisy of the U.S. support for brutal right-wing governments in Central America followed by demonization of those fleeing from persecution at the hands of those governments.

must read

woven through political times across countries a migration story across country lines and positions of power to evoke the only plausible solution... a humanist stance

Immigration Crisis Caused By Flawed Policy Exacerbated By Corruption

These stories of Central American refugees were especially poignant given the current illegal deportations being done by the Trump administration.

Interesting Historical

Good job portraying and sharing the history of Central America. Liked the narrative of various peoples stories. Slightly disjointed at the end and with the change in readers on Audible I was really lost. Good material we should all be more familiar with, and bringing that forward was valuable.

The truth behind numbers

The book make the people behind the numbers real. Although continuity was a bit jumpy I enjoy the story.

Level of knowledge

I loved that there was an account of experiences ranging from refugees to gang environment to political leaders! Brilliantly executed from the author and it’s clear he did a significant amount of research and involvement:) I absolutely love that!

I lived through this

I hesitate to admit that I enjoyed this book, but I truly appreciated the perspective provided by the author as he detailed the events that have shaped our current immigration policies and situations.

I recommend this book if you're interested in understanding immigration policy without encountering misinformation or harsh critiques.

Worth the time, a lot of investment though

I read and listen to a lot of nonfiction books, particularly United States and United States history history. When I got this book, I was expecting more along the lines of typical nonfiction books, going through policies and events, which this book definitely does. However, there is a lot of storytelling in here. Which, at first was kind of a turn off for me and I was about ready to stop listening. Not that the stories were not appealing, but I wanted to talk more about the events and policies. Over the course of the book, I grew to appreciate the stories that were told. All of them had their own significance and I got a real prospective of what it must’ve been like for these people who were just trying to get better lives. To me, as someone who knows little to no immigration history, or anything like that, the idea that most of these people Were not looking to the US as thier home, they were looking to go back to their home countries. That fact, kind of made me look at it a different angle. As my title says, this book is a lot of investment as a listener in my opinion, but worth it

Well done

Very good explanation of how our immigration system works and how badly it needs funding and reform