No Option But North
The Migrant World and the Perilous Path Across the Border
What does it mean to choose to move to a new country, versus migration by necessity? What does it look like to lack options as a migrant traveling through Mexico? In the thick of the Trump candidacy in 2016, and through the travel bans his administration issued in 2017, Fulbright fellow Kelsey Freeman was determined to find out. Moving to a small, industrial town in central Mexico, located right along a migration pathway, Freeman spent nine months interviewing countless migrants as they confronted tremendous obstacles to a better life. No Option But Northinterweaves these stories with anecdotes from Freeman's experiences in Mexico to expose the fundamental moral quandaries involved in migration-from the expanding gang violence to the dearth of legal options for working-class Central Americans and Mexicans. In the process, the book takes us on a harrowing journey that strikes at the heart of the human ability to endure. A timely chronicle of contemporary migration from Central America and Mexico that peels back the layers of privilege underlying our migration policies, No Option But North adds powerful color and force to the immigration narrative.
As a writer and educator, Kelsey Freeman focuses on immigration policy, Indigenous rights, social justice, and public policy. After graduating from Bowdoin College, she received a Fulbright Fellowship to teach English and study migration in central Mexico. She currently runs a college-readiness program for Native American high school students through Central Oregon Community College.
